FTC, Utah and Nevada Sue Lens.com Over Hidden 'Taxes & Fees' That Doubled Contact Lens Prices

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by Utah and Nevada, sued online contact-lens retailer Lens.com on Friday, alleging the company lured shoppers with low advertised prices and then added large mandatory “Taxes & fees” charges later in checkout that often doubled the cost.

The civil complaint, filed Oct. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, names Lens.com Inc., Speed Commerce LLC and Cary Samourkachian, whom the complaint identifies as an owner and officer of Lens.com and Speed Commerce. The FTC and the two states are seeking a permanent injunction, monetary judgments, civil penalties and other relief.

According to the complaint, the defendants ran a long-running deceptive pricing scheme by advertising artificially low prices in sponsored Google search ads and on Lens.com, then imposing a mandatory charge that was not clearly disclosed before checkout. The FTC said the fee has cost consumers “hundreds of millions of dollars.” In the complaint, regulators said defendants “prominently advertise eye-catching, artificially low prices … impose a substantial, mandatory ‘Taxes & fees’ charge that is hidden and routinely doubles the initially advertised price.”

The complaint says the “Taxes & fees” line was often placed below the visible portion of the checkout screen while consumers were prompted to click a prominent “Continue” button. Some consumers who moved forward never saw the charge at all, according to the filing. Regulators also allege the label itself was misleading because it suggested the amount included state sales tax, even though many states either exempt contact lenses from sales tax or have no sales tax.

Regulators included a detailed example from a Feb. 24, 2026, screenshot cited in the complaint. It showed a $366.32 subtotal, a $273.44 “Taxes & fees” charge and $9.95 shipping, for a total of $649.71 before a mail-in rebate.

The lawsuit also challenges Lens.com’s AutoRefill program, which regulators describe as a negative-option subscription, meaning charges continue unless the customer cancels. The FTC, Utah and Nevada allege Lens.com used the same deceptively low prices to sign people up for AutoRefill, did not clearly disclose the added “Taxes & fees” before obtaining billing information, and failed to clearly explain how to cancel or the deadline to avoid the next shipment charge.

The governments allege violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, known as ROSCA, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and state consumer protection laws in Utah and Nevada. The FTC said the commission voted 2-0 to authorize the case.

“Millions of Americans rely on contact lenses to perform their daily tasks. Lens.com advertised one price for contact lenses but charged a substantially higher price at checkout, deceiving consumers about the cost of this healthcare necessity. The FTC’s joint action today with Utah and Nevada underscores the agency’s commitment to lowering healthcare costs for consumers by stopping deceptive businesses practices that raise prices and harm Americans,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the agency’s release.

The government action follows earlier scrutiny of Lens.com’s pricing. Since 2024, the company has faced multiple private class-action lawsuits over similar hidden-fee allegations, though a federal panel declined to consolidate those cases into multidistrict litigation in 2025.

The FTC has framed contact lenses as a recurring health care expense used by millions of Americans, making clear all-in pricing especially important for online comparison shopping. The agency said it files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” the law has been or is about to be violated. The allegations have not been proven in court. As of the FTC’s announcement, no public statement from Lens.com or Samourkachian had been identified.