Office of Fair Trading launches investigation into price discount claims
October 16, 2009
The U.K.’s Office of Fair Trading has decided to launch an enquiry into retailers and their claims that they are offering customers reduced prices and discounts on what they buy. The investigation will look at supermarkets, travel companies, electrical stores and furniture stores amongst others and will examine pricing policies both in store and online. The Office of Fair Trading claims that many of the sale prices and offer prices that retailers roll out to their customers may not be what they seem.
The U.K. watchdog is particularly concerned with offers where there is a huge discrepancy between the sale price and the original price on products. It says that many retailers will continually fluctuate between prices on goods to make it appear that products are consistently being offered at bargain prices. It is also concerned with so called baiting-sales where discounts will only appear on a few items but the store will announce that it is having a sale across all its products.
The Office of Fair Trading also said it will look at drip pricing whereby a product or airline seat is offered at a low price but the customer will then find themselves paying for unavoidable add-ons such as delivery or booking fees which drive the price up again. Senior director of OFT, Heather Clayton says that they will be careful in their study so that they make sure companies are still allowed to trade freely whilst consumers are protected from any misleading practices.
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