State high court to hear fraud case concerning Value Village
LYNNWOOD — High above Highway 99, a massive, brightly lit sign advertises the “Value Village Donation Center.” On this rainy, gray Friday evening in early spring, eager shoppers fill the aisles of the Value Village store, flipping through racks of clothes, browsing displays of home décor and feeling their way through entire shelves of soft, plush bunny toys.
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“You’ve got to help people who need it,” says Lynnwood shopper Kim Ti, who gives the store high marks for charity. “Everything in here is donated,” she says. She also finds the store clean, well-organized and filled with better-quality items than those in some other thrift stores that also take her donations. “I’ve given a lot here over the years.”
So the loyal donor and shopper was shocked to hear that Value Village is embroiled in a long-running court battle with the state of Washington, accused of violating several consumer protection laws.
It’s been more than four years since Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson first sued TVI Inc., the Bellevue-based corporation that owns the Value Village chain, alleging that the company used deceptive marketing to make it look like a charity and “downplay its for-profit status.” Among other claims, the state charged that the company “unfairly and deceptively” created the impression “that TVI is a charity or non-profit organization and that purchases at TVI’s retail stores benefit charities — when they do not.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-high-court-to-hear-fraud-case-concerning-value-village/