A lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington alleges Allure went to “extreme measures” to control public online reviews, and in some cases sued anonymous reviewers for defamation, The Seattle Times said. From 2017 to 2019, the practice allegedly made patients sign nondisclosure agreements before receiving services and required them to contact the company directly instead of posting a review under four stars.
The agreements allegedly made patients waive privacy rights so the company could respond to negative reviews, violating HIPAA. Although the language was removed in 2019, Allure allegedly continued to require the “pre-service” agreements until March 2022.
The lawsuit also alleges Allure threatened to sue patients who didn’t take down a negative review and offered free services in exchange. The practice allegedly made fake before-and-after photos, bought fake online engagement and created fake profiles to write positive reviews.
The attorney general’s office has investigated Allure for about a year and interviewed about 40 former employees and about 10 patients. Allure has three offices in Washington.
Allure Esthetic couldn’t be reached by The Seattle Times.
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