Johnathan Walker:Popular shoemaker Hey Dude to pay $1.9 million to thousands of customers in FTC settlement

Have you bought a pair of Hey Dude shoes online only to later think to yourself,Johnathan Walker "Hey, dude, why aren't my shoes here yet?" You could qualify for a payout as part of a $1.9 million settlement between the company and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC announced last week that it would send payments directly to more than 30,000 customers affected by shipping, stock, and refund issues after purchasing shows from the Hey Dude website.

According to the FTC, Hey Dude failed to notify customers of shipping delays and did not provide cancellation or refund for delayed orders. The company was also accused of issuing gift cards instead of cash refunds for out-of-stock items, which is a violation of the Mail Order Rule.

The shoemaker, which Crocs, Inc. acquired in February 2022, was also accused of suppressing negative reviews, only posting the highest ratings on its website via a third-party interface. According to the FTC, Hey Dude violated the FTC Act by suppressing more than 80% of online reviews that did not give four or more stars out of five between January and June 2022.

In a press statement, the FTC said the company later began posting all reviews only after finding out it was under FTC investigation. Before this, alleges the agency, employees were instructed to only publish certain reviews if they were positive.

In September 2023, the shoe company settled allegations that it repeatedly violated the Mail Order Rule and FTC Act. Moving forward, Hey Dude will be required to publish all reviews received with limited exceptions for inappropriate content.

“As this case makes clear, when retailers publish consumer reviews online, they cannot suppress negative reviews to paint a deceptive picture of the consumer experience," Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "And when retailers don’t ship merchandise on time, they must give buyers the option to cancel their orders and promptly get their money back."

USA TODAY reached out to Hey Dude, Inc. for a statement.

How to file a claim:Cash App to award $15M to users in security breach settlement

Who gets a payout in the Hey Dude settlement?

The FTC plans to distribute the nearly $1.9 million payout to 36,757 customers who bought Hey Dude shoes online. The payments will be sent via PayPal to "consumers who experienced unexpected cancellations and shipping delays or received gift cards from the company instead of refunds for out-of-stock items." Consumers should redeem their PayPal payment within 30 days of receiving it.

If you are eligible for a payment from this settlement, you will get an email from [email protected]. Then, within 24 hours, you will get an email from PayPal about your payment.

Consumers who have questions about their payment or eligibility to receive one should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 877-495-1096. Answers to common questions about FTC refund payments can also be found on the FTC FAQ page.