SmileDirectClub Settles Legal Dispute with DC Attorney General
The Office of District of Columbia Attorney General alleged product review suppression through non-disclosure agreements with consumers at the threat of losing the chance to receive refunds.
SmileDirectClub Settles Legal Dispute with DC Attorney General. Image: © SmileDirectClub
SmileDirectClub has formally settled with The Office of District Columbia Attorney General Brain Schwalb on its non-disclosure agreement-related litigation. In the original dispute, AG Schwalb’s office alleged that SmileDirectClub asked customers wishing to return their aligners to agree to confidentiality clauses to receive the refund for the product. This was said to be done to suppress consumer reviews that portrayed the company and products in a negative light.
Per SmileDirectClub, customers are not required to sign or agree to any kind of non-disclosure statement in order to receive their refunds. SmileDirectClub asserts that it utilizes guidelines put in place by the American Association of Orthodontists for its general release forms (GRF). It now aims to fine-tune the non-disclosure provision in its GRFs, according to SmileDirectClub Chief Legal Officer, Susan Greenspon Rammelt.
“We are proud of our products and services, and customer satisfaction has been and will continue to be our North Star,” Greenspon Rammelt says in a press release from SmileDirectClub. “As the District of Columbia enforces its newly developing policy to limit the use of non-disclosure provisions, even in general forms of release, across the dental industry, we encourage the rest of the orthodontic industry to follow our example as a leader in consumer transparency and embrace honest reviews and feedback from consumers in digital forums.”
SmileDirectClub is working with the District of Columbia’s Office of AG to settle this dispute and work on policies regarding customer transparency in the future.
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