Post by cenydd on Aug 23, 2013 9:59:23 GMT
Six High Street furniture and carpet retailers have been accused of misleading their customers with fake prices.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the stores had all advertised price cuts which were not genuine.
In particular, they advertised reductions from previously higher prices, which tricked customers into thinking they were getting a bargain.
Carpetright and the ScS chain are among the six being investigated.
During its inquiries, the OFT said it found systematic examples of inflated "reference pricing".
That is where a retailer claims the price "was" £500, for example, and is "now" £300.
But the OFT said that in some cases, the stores under investigation had not sold a single product at the previous higher price.
On average, it found that 95% of sales were at the lower, or "now" price, suggesting the original prices were not genuine.
It also said the problem was "endemic" within the industry.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the stores had all advertised price cuts which were not genuine.
In particular, they advertised reductions from previously higher prices, which tricked customers into thinking they were getting a bargain.
Carpetright and the ScS chain are among the six being investigated.
During its inquiries, the OFT said it found systematic examples of inflated "reference pricing".
That is where a retailer claims the price "was" £500, for example, and is "now" £300.
But the OFT said that in some cases, the stores under investigation had not sold a single product at the previous higher price.
On average, it found that 95% of sales were at the lower, or "now" price, suggesting the original prices were not genuine.
It also said the problem was "endemic" within the industry.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23797882
It's about time the OFT took some action over this. I think we've all known for years that this has been going on - invent a price that is triple the real one, 'sell' at that price for a couple of days to comply with the laws about 'sale' stuff having to have been sold at the quoted higher price (without actually selling any, of course, because the price is so ridiculous!), then make huge 'cuts' to a more genuine price and advertise 'massive savings'. We all know about the DFS 'sales' that end one day before the next 'sale' starts, too! there must be something iffy about a company that is always in a state of 'sale' and always selling everything at a reduced price - either its original price is simply dishonest, or they are constantly operating at a loss (which clearly they aren't). It might be something easy to spot for those of us who have been around the block a few times, but it can all too easily catch less aware people, and those are likely to be the most vulnerable ones with the least cash (young people starting out in life and setting up their first home, for example). It's not right that those people should be conned by such shady trading practises.