SmileDirectClub, which provides orthodontic services by mail, has agreed to release a customer who requested a non-disclosure agreement refund as part of a settlement with the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
The settlement, announced Thursday, will allow 17,000 customers to speak publicly about their experience with Smile Direct Club’s braces, said Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb. . The company previously asked customers seeking refunds to agree not to discuss their experiences and to delete negative social media posts about the company.
In 2020, The New York Times reported that SmileDirectClub signed a non-disclosure agreement on some refunds. In 2022, the Attorney General’s Office for the District of Columbia sued the company for preventing customers harmed by its services from filing complaints with regulators and law enforcement.
“SmileDirectClub promised an easy, safe, and affordable way to straighten your teeth and touted five-star reviews, but behind the scenes, the company is silencing dissatisfied consumers and allowing its products to We were burying injury complaints,” Schwalb said in a statement.
SmileDirectClub also agreed to pay $500,000, but said it did not break the law or engage in any unfair or deceptive conduct in the settlement.
Susan Greenspon Rammelt, SmileDirectClub’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the company claimed it was a “misinformation campaign” to block negative consumer feedback. She said the company does not require customers to sign non-disclosure agreements if they ask for a refund within 30 days of receiving the aligners, and the deal is negotiable, she said.
The company said its release forms are modeled after those used in the orthodontic industry and that it already has plans to “adjust the confidentiality clause more narrowly.”
SmileDirectClub’s services are often less expensive than traditional orthodontics because they don’t involve in-person visits, but they have drawn criticism from dentists and orthodontist groups. The company sued some of those critics and defendant California Dental Commission Conspired to Suppress Competition.
SmileDirectClub went public in 2019, raising $1.29 billion at a valuation of nearly $9 billion. As a publicly traded company, it is not profitable. The company’s stock price fell below $1 a share, giving it a $166 million valuation.
