A new proposed class action was filed in the Central District of California, where a shopper says an online wig retailer quietly tacked onto her order a shipping insurance fee or "Route Package Protection" fee she never agreed to. The charge—$9.18 on top of her purchase—came from a third-party vendor called Route, and according to the complaint it landed in her cart through a pre-checked toggle at the very last step of checkout, after she'd already entered her name, address, and payment details.
The case is Le v. Appearanz Inc. d/b/a Uniwigs Inc., Case No. 5:26-cv-03320 pending in the Central District of California.
Her theory has two moving parts, and both are worth watching.
The first is about consent. The fee wasn't something she added; it was something she'd have had to noticed and removed. The complaint leans on FTC guidance that a pre-checked box is not affirmative consent, and paints the whole checkout flow as a "dark pattern" designed so that shoppers who've already sunk time into the order will simply pay and move on. The defendant, she says, counted on exactly that.
The second part gives the case even more bite. She argues the protection insures nothing the buyer didn't already have. Under the UCC and California's Commercial Code, a merchant bears the risk of loss until the goods actually reach the buyer. So when the package is lost or damaged in transit, that's already the seller's problem—by default, for free. The added "protection" upcharge on this reading, doesn't protect the customer at all, allegedly. It shifts the seller's own liability onto the customer's credit card. The complaint calls it "a classic case of 'Drip pricing.'"
The plaintiff seeks to represent everyone charged the fee, and notes the retailer allegedly advertised free worldwide shipping over $200—while still tacking the protection fee on top.
None of it has been tested or proven yet; these are allegations. Definitely one to keep an eye on.
