The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with gaming hardware company Razer, requiring them to refund $1 million to consumers who purchased the Razer Zephyr mask, which was falsely marketed as an N95 respirator.
If you succumbed to your gamer instincts and purchased an N95 mask from Razer , the company renowned for its keyboards and computer mice, you might be eligible for compensation—at the very least, a refund. The Federal Trade Commission announced on Monday that it has reached a settlement with the gaming hardware company that will set aside $1 million to reimburse individuals who bought the Razer Zephyr , a short-lived “ N95 ” mask sold by the company during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FTC will distribute checks and PayPal payments containing full refunds to 6,764 consumers who acquired the mask. According to the agency, consumers who purchased a Zephyr will have 90 days to cash their check once received or 30 days to accept their PayPal payment. The FTC will be sending out the payments based on records received from Razer and does not require consumers to file a claim.This saga unfolded as the FTC cracked down on Razer for falsely marketing its Zephyr masks. The company initially launched the masks in 2021, asserting that the product was “FDA-registered and lab-tested for 99 percent BFE” and offered “greater protection compared to standard disposable/cloth masks” thanks to its “replaceable N95 grade filters for maximum protection.” However, that wasn't the case. According to the FTC's investigation, Razer never submitted the Zephyr masks to the FDA or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for testing, and they were never certified as N95 grade. Instead, the company conducted tests through a third-party contractor, but even those results revealed that the masks fell short. To qualify as N95 grade, a mask must achieve 95% or greater particulate filtration efficiency. The third-party tests showed the Zephyr reaching a maximum of 86.3% in an area with fans on, and “frequently tested much lower.” Despite this knowledge, Razer chose to market the mask as N95 anyway, a significant oversight.The company sold the masks for a few months spanning the latter half of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, charging $100 each before withdrawing the product as scrutiny mounted. While the company did inform buyers afterward that the Zephyr was “not a medical device nor certified as an N95 mask,” it failed to inform those buyers that refunds were available. Consequently, the FTC found that less than 6% of Zephyr purchases received their money back—which it aims to rectify with this settlement. Better late than never
Razer Zephyr N95 FTC Refund False Advertising Gaming
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