A California company accused of posing as an U.K. e- tailer agree...
A California company accused of posing as an U.K. e- tailer agreed to a temporary restraining order stopping its activities until Sept. 25, when the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles will hear the FTC’s request for a preliminary…
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injunction. The commission said Balls of Kryptonite and its owner Jaivin Karnani ran two Web sites, www.bestpricedbrands.co.uk and www.bitesizedeals.co.uk, that led British customers to believe they were buying electronics from a company operating in the U.K. and would be protected by manufacturers’ warranties valid in the U.K. Instead, the FTC said, customers were charged import duties, couldn’t cancel orders, often received merchandise different from what they ordered and were misled about their rights to return or exchange goods under U.K. regulations. The company also deceived customers about participating in the safe-harbor program between the EU and the U.S., in which American companies give assurances that they comply with European regulations about securing personal information, the FTC said. The commission called this the first case it has brought against a U.S. company that does business only abroad, under authority granted by the U.S. SAFE WEB Act of 2006. The FTC said it was helped by the U.K. Office of Fair Trading and the multinational site www.econsumer.gov, which takes consumer complaints about problems in other countries.