Washington state has reached a settlement with COVID-19 testing company GS Labs, resolving a long-running investigation into how the firm charged consumers during the pandemic. Under the agreement, roughly one million dollars in refunds is now available to an estimated 11,000 people in the state who were affected by the company's billing practices.
GS Labs emerged in the heart of the pandemic, starting out and remaining headquartered in Nebraska before expanding rapidly to around 18 states. The company showed up in Washington in late 2020, and complaints from consumers began arriving soon after it started operating in the state.
Acting on those complaints, the Washington State Attorney General's office opened an investigation in early 2021. Officials said concerns about the company's conduct were widespread, with consumers raising red flags both to the state and to organizations such as the Better Business Bureau.
At a high level, the problems centered on overcharging. According to the state, GS Labs set very high prices, tacked on undisclosed fees, and failed to deliver on its promise to return PCR test results within three days, leaving customers without the results they had paid for in the promised time.
At the time, PCR was considered the gold standard for COVID-19 testing, and many residents needed a test to do everyday things such as returning to school or work or boarding an airplane. That made the delays and added costs a significant burden for people who felt they had little choice but to get tested wherever they could.
The investigation took an unusually long time to reach completion, something the state attributed largely to the multistate nature of the case and the large number of consumers involved. Officials noted that GS Labs stopped the conduct quickly once the inquiry began, which allowed the harm to be addressed even as the broader resolution took longer to finalize.
With the settlement now in place, roughly one million dollars is available in refunds for the approximately 11,000 Washington consumers believed to have been affected. The agreement also includes commitments that would restrict certain practices should GS Labs ever return to the testing space, even though the company's website now lists it as closed.