My Pillow, the Infomercial Sensation, Flunks Out of Better Business Bureau

The list of problems keeps growing for My Pillow, the popular Minnesota-based pillow maker known for its late-night TV infomercials and celebrity endorsements.Just months after settling a consumer protection lawsuit alleging false and deceptive advertising, My Pillow has taken a hit over a different set of consumer complaints.On Tuesday, the Better Business Bureau announced that it had revoked My Pillows accreditation and lowered its rating from an A-plus to an F, saying the companys longstanding buy one, get one free offer was unfair and confusing to customers.

The BBB said the offer violated the organizations code of advertising by marketing pillows in a two-for-one deal that was in fact the regular price. Consumers might have thought they were getting a special deal, the BBB found, but they were really paying the full cost of the product, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.Continuous BOGO offers, which can then be construed as an items regular, everyday price, violate not only BBBs Code of Advertising, which all BBB Accredited Businesses agree to abide by, but also other state and national organizations rules,said Dana Badgerow, president of BBB in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Losing BBB accreditation doesnt carry any legal or financial penalties, but it does strip My Pillow of a widely used industry certification designed to help establish consumer trust in a company. The F ratingis the lowest mark a company can receive in the BBBs rating system based on a companys complaint history.A companys rating can be lowered when the bureau determines that the business is not being transparent about its marketplace conduct, among other reasons, according to the BBB website.

Founded in 2005, My Pillow touts its product as the most comfortable pillow youll ever own. Founder and spokesman Michael J. Lindells infomercials, a staple of late-night television,have claimedthe pillow canprevent sleep loss associated with a range of ailments.

The company has sold some 18 million pillows in the past decadeatabout $50 each, pulling in $100 million annually, as the Star Tribune hasreported.The BBB said it received a pattern of complaints about My Pillows buy one, get one offer. Bureau officials said theybegan urging Lindellto discontinue the marketingploy and were left with no choice but to dock the companys rating when he didnt respond, the Star Tribune reported.

Barb Grieman, senior vice president for the BBB in Minnesota, said the bureau seldom gives out F ratings because companies tend tocomply.We cant understand why hes not making the changes, Grieman told the Star Tribune. Were not saying he cant offer a BOGO, just not continuously all year long.

According to the BBB, My Pillowshould have ended the offer after 30 days.Its unfair to businesses in the same industry, Grieman said. We want advertising to be clear.

Lindell said Tuesday he was disappointed in the BBBs decision. He told the local NBC affiliate, KARE, that he wouldnt be able to stop the sale at the moment but would make unspecified changes later this year. In a tweet Tuesday he said he was sorry about the new rating as my customer service is the most important thing to me.

The BBB said it has received 232 complaints about My Pillow in the past three years. Most haverelated to the buy one, get one offer, the BBB said, but the organization saidconsumers raised other issues as well. Among them were complaints that the pillow advertised on TV was not the same as the one they received and that a full warranty required purchasers to pay a fee to return the product, according to KARE.

Thebureausannouncement comes just afew months after My Pillow agreed to pay $1 million to settle a consumer protection lawsuit alleging the company overstated the benefits of itsproducts. The company had claimed without evidence that its pillows could prevent sleep loss from insomnia, restless leg syndrome, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sleep apnea and migraines, raising alarms at the consumer watchdog Truth in Advertising.org, as The Washington Post reported.

The organization also objected to Lindells claim that he was a sleep expert, when he had no such training. Lindell said he chose to settle the case rather than pay the legal fees to fight it. The company did not admit fault.

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