The UK Government is to take action against retailers misleading shoppers with what the prime minster has called ‘phoney bargains.’
‘We are putting an end to phoney bargains. We are taking on poor practices that make people’s lives harder. If something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price,’ Andy Burnham wites in The Guardian.
‘We will make sure that when families snatch a deal, they can be confident they’re actually saving. That’s the least they deserve when budgets are so tight.’
A consultation is expected to be issued in the Autumn, before secondary legislation is introduced.
Making discounts appear better than they really are with fake was’ prices, invented reductions and misleading recommended retail prices are likely to be at the core of the move.
Although no major furniture or flooring retailer has been prosecuted in recent years – ScS was fined more than £2,000 over carpet pricing at its Aberden store in August 2021 and £6,000 over upholstery prices at the same branch in March 2019 – the focus has switched to civil legal or regulatory action, and the ASA frequently orders retailers to change their sale advertising.
The CMA has been particularly active and Which? Investigations have highlighted potentially misleading pricing practices.
It is more than 13 years since the then Office of Fair Trading told the sector to stop using reference prices. Before then many retailers were the subject of popular scorn for having seemingly permanent sales.
