Lifestyle Lift Slammed for Deceptive and Illegal Posting by NY AG -- And How RealSelf Protects Our Community
Earlier today, the New York state Attorney General announced it fined Lifestyle Lift, the "facial-firming" mini-lift company, $300,000 for posting fake consumer reviews on the Internet.
Lifestyle Lift is actively discussed on RealSelf, with one million visits made to RealSelf.com content related to the treatment in the past year by both previous patients and those considering the plastic surgery procedure. With over 180 reviews of LifeStyle Lift, 36% of past patients felt the procedure was worth it.
The Attorney General accused Lifestyle Lift of tricking consumers "into believing that satisfied customers were posting their own stories" about the product. This deception, said the AG, constituted "deceptive commercial practices, false advertising, and fraudulent and illegal conduct" under New York and federal laws.
Last year, Lifestyle Lift and RealSelf settled two lawsuits, one a trademark infringement claim by Lifestyle Lift, and the other a counter-claim by RealSelf based on this same issue of fake postings.
The news out of New York today is thought to be the first case in the US combating "astroturfing" -- the practice of employees of a company posing on the Internet as unaffiliated or independent consumers to praise a product or attack detractors. In media reports, Lifestyle Lift did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
How RealSelf protects our community
Today's news brings up an issue RealSelf.com takes very seriously -- inauthentic or fraudulent postings to the site. We take great pride in the content our community provides, and strongly believe that our community members benefit tremendously by having access to detailed information on cosmetic treatments. With this in mind, it is imperative that all the information on RealSelf.com is trustworthy.
To ensure this is the case, should we detect or suspect a fake posting, though rare, we remove the content immediately and investigate the issue further. If we do discover this type of activity taking place, we ban the community member from participating, and take any additional action necessary to insure the issue does not come up again.
We also don’t wait for the community to flag suspected fake posts. Although this is a valuable way for us to become aware of this type of behavior, we also monitor all cosmetic treatment reviews and use various techniques that look for patterns, including but not limited to IP address reverse lookups, that suggest materials written by a company representative.
We maintain a zero-tolerance policy against attempts to manipulate the ratings of cosmetic procedures.
More Lifestyle Lift on RealSelf
- RealSelf and Lifestyle Lift reached a settlement in May 2008.
- How the controversy began: Lifestyle Lift files suit against RealSelf.
- Earlier issues for Lifestyle Lift.
- Our community's unbiased and independent reviews of Lifestyle Lift.
- Our doctors weigh in on the RS community's questions on LSL.
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1 post
30 Jul 2009
Being a Ex-employee of Lifestyle Lift, they are giving the patients high expectations and false information about the procedure. This a company thats not for patient care but for patient's money! Dr. Kent is selling a procedure that does not work and half the doctors are not board certified, so please do your homework before having this procedure!!!!
2 posts
27 Aug 2009
My mom already gave the LSL 400 down payment for a procedure in Nov. Should she get her money back and go to a plastic surgeon for a neck lift? Also her Doctoe has a lot of certifications, but not board certified plastic surgeon? Help!
4 posts
2 Sep 2009
My mom just had the lifestyle lift procedure and the recovery was very difficult. They do not give you enough info. about how serious the procedure really is. Since the surgery, we have been told to do different things by the technicians and the doctors. It has been 2 weeks since the surgery. She has had fluid build up behind her ears and it has been drained 4 times already. One doctor talked about putting a pressure suture to collapse the empty cavity, but then the other doctor said no and that it would go away on its own. The paperwork they give you also has special post op instructions and the doctor today told us totally different instructions than the ones written on the paper. I'm just praying that everything will turn okay eventually. I don't know who to trust in that office.
4 posts
9 Sep 2009
Take the loss and save your face. Your face is worth more than $400. You may end up spending more to fix yourself or worse you may not be able to fix yourself at all.
2 posts
13 Sep 2009
My Mom got her money back, one day shy of the 60 day no money back in the contract. She was lucky! After all the reading I did about cosmetic surgery the number one topic was to make sure yout surgeon was a Board Certifies Plastic Surgeon, the doctor my Mom met with was a ear, nose and throat specalist with a lot of certificates, but no board certified plastic surgery one. This LSL company is like a catttle call, they make it sound so easy because it only takes an hour, why the rush with the face. Get at least 3 consultations with 3 different Board certified Plastic surgeons. Lets keep these comments going so no one lse will have to suffer from this companys misrepresentation!
3 posts
2 Oct 2009
Maybe someone, now can give an honest answere. Does the lifestyle lift affect hair growth, that is, from the head. I've been loosing my hair gradually since the procedure.I've gone thru different stages. It became very dry and brittle, then broke off at an inch from ends. And worse was last December when it broke off at the crown area at 3in. from scalp. I am now thinning all over and NOT gaining length from the top of head and am receeding at hairline. My hair was long , alittle pass shoulders. I HAD a massive headd of hair which most people admired and hairdressers feared. It took them a year to finally somewhat admitt that "the proceedure could slow down hair growth but only around the surgical areas. However it's more than that. I've gone to doctors left and right done blood test, for almost a year now and no one can give me a straight ansere. The only thing different in my life and body has been the LIFESTYLE LIFT so it seems pretty obvious it's been the soul factor the my hairloss. And before I am bold at the age of 44, I'd like for someone to be honest with me so I can do something about my hairloss. SO I LOOSE A DOUBLE CHIN AND Gain a BOLD HEAD?!
2 posts
20 Oct 2009
Several years ago i was going to get the LSL; i went to the facility in Troy, Michigan and put down a deposit; however, i was taken aback that not one person suggested i meet with one of their surgeons prior to the proposed surgery so that I could be evaluated personally;I called and set up and appointment to discuss the risks,etc. Well, this doc met with me for less than five minutes; i was sitting down in a chair in a room; he came to the doorway, never came in the room; I asked him some questions about risks and that that took less than five minutes; he never looked at my face or evaluated what my needs would be personally; i got my refund back without any problems; i would never go back.