Did You Buy Skechers Shape-ups? You May Be Eligible For a Refund. Yes, this commercial was probably too good to be true. The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Skechers agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges it misled consumers with claims that its toning sneakers would do everything from help them lose weight to make their “bottom half their better half” without ever going to a gym. So this 2010 commercial (which aired during the Super Bowl) was false.

The announcement comes eight months after Reebok settled similar FTC charges for $25 million. Along with singling out deceptive ads, such as Super Bowl ads (like this one featuring Kim Kardashian) and Brooke Burke, the FTC said research underlying the claims was suspect.

The Skechers sneakers didn’t just fail to live up to their purported fitness claims, the FTC says. They they may have had the opposite effect. Consumers not only “didn’t lose weight, they gained weight,” says  David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Consumers who bought any of the Skechers sneakers covered by the settlement can learn more and file for a refund at ftc.gov/Skechers.

-LD

USA Today, Youtube