OFT To Investigate Furniture Retailers...

ads52 · Aug 23, 2013

"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."

Did anyone really believe the before Sale Prices

Has this not been going on for years??

sebtucknott · Aug 23, 2013

I alway see this as "sales and marketing" if you not clever enough to work it out that's your problem. Most of the offers are for non essential items so if you feel you need them that's your choice.

Seagull on the wing · Aug 24, 2013

This could be a Never Ending Story......but more like...A Never Ending Sale...

Rugrat · Aug 24, 2013

I used to do a lot of the 0% financing that these people use to draw in business. It was scandalous, they'd sell a sofa for £600 and the finance co would pay them something like £400 (the price of the sofa, £200 is the hidden interest) and there was still a 200%+ mark up. It's all junk shipped in from the Far East for peanuts, the biggest cost being the shipping

Thunder Bolt · Aug 24, 2013

Tescos are also mentioned for offering 'half price' goods when they had been selling those goods at the same price previously.

surrey jim · Aug 24, 2013

Did Eisanegger (sp) the clothing retailer
not close down around 10 years ago now, due to being caught up in the same business practices.

Wozza · Aug 24, 2013

Silly thing is, OFT haven't named the six retailers in question.

Although I'm told their research MUST. END. THIS. MONDAY!, so perhaps we'll hear soon.

Zukey Seagull · Aug 24, 2013

i have seen amazon do it before, When they do the lightning deals during the week. i think all companies do it to lure people in with the SALE headline.

Herr Tubthumper · Aug 24, 2013

sebtucknott said:
I alway see this as "sales and marketing" if you not clever enough to work it out that's your problem. Most of the offers are for non essential items so if you feel you need them that's your choice.

I personally think the onus is on the business to tell the truth. It's not for the customer "to work it out."

Beach Hut · Aug 24, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
I personally think the onus is on the business to tell the truth. It's not for the customer "to work it out."

I agree, went in Tescos yesterday and Mrs Hut selected some fruit which was there as you entered the store, when we got to the fruit area roughly the same fruit was half the price of the ones as you entered.

sebtucknott · Aug 24, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
I personally think the onus is on the business to tell the truth. It's not for the customer "to work it out."

I agree that some take the piss. But surely if you see a offers of 50% or greater there is a reason for that. When making a purchase if you don't take the time to look around and compare like for like then I don't see how you can complain.

Husty · Aug 24, 2013

Wozza said:
Silly thing is, OFT haven't named the six retailers in question.

Although I'm told their research MUST. END. THIS. MONDAY!, so perhaps we'll hear soon.

Rugrat · Aug 24, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
I personally think the onus is on the business to tell the truth. It's not for the customer "to work it out."

Agree .. it's one thing looking for a specific branded TV or phone or such like but to the fella in the street one bit of carpet or furniture can be made to look exactly the same as another at 3,4,5 times the price and would know? The retailer can then make all sorts of claims about 50% off and the such like when in fact it's still hugely over priced.

One huge carpet retailer I dealt with had absolutely rubbish repeat business because their product was so bad but he didn't give a stuff. He weighed it all up and reckoned it was more profitable to stiff the customer one time than cut his margins, make less and get repeat business ... mind you would you go back if your carpet had worn out after 2 years regardless of how much you paid?

KZNSeagull · Aug 24, 2013

surrey jim said:
Did Eisanegger (sp) the clothing retailer
not close down around 10 years ago now, due to being caught up in the same business practices.

Not sure what happened to them, but they always had a 70% sale on.

Re the Furniture Retailers, less than 5% of their sales were at the highest prices and some items were NEVER sold at the highest price.

The huge sharp practice here in Supermarkets is to have items advertised at one price on the shelf but the price at the till is higher, as each item is not individually priced.

Thunder Bolt · Aug 24, 2013

KZNSeagull said:
The huge sharp practice here in Supermarkets is to have items advertised at one price on the shelf but the price at the till is higher, as each item is not individually priced.

I've seen that at Tescos too. I challenged them at the till as I saw what was rung through. I went to Customer Services and asked them to check the shelf. They refunded me the difference. They rely on you buying a lot of goods, and being too busy packing to watch the items rung through.

glasfryn · Aug 24, 2013

Thunder Bolt said:
I've seen that at Tescos too. I challenged them at the till as I saw what was rung through. I went to Customer Services and asked them to check the shelf. They refunded me the difference. They rely on you buying a lot of goods, and being too busy packing to watch the items rung through.

Tesco Ah yes
I pulled them up about 6 months ago huge row of cat food foils advertised at 8 for £3 and right in the middle was one that was not in the offer so when you get home you realise you have had to pay full price for all.
I emailed them and put it to them this was sharp practice and that dear old Jack Cohen would be proud of them as this was one of his tricks(I did work for Tesco many years ago) I also mentioned that the offer they had would be normal price at ASDA and this generated a £5 voucher, we always watch the prices at Tesco now and have come up with a few anomalies, strange prices and down right piss takes.
Tesco use what they laughingly call a Planogramme it tells those in store where to place each product, so it does look like s deliberate act which I put to them.
No they say its a mistake, store says No its not and continue to lay it out as the Planogramme as told them (feck me does nobody now use their own brain) another £5 voucher arrives.
Planogramme producer= some knob who thinks its clever to cheat the general public or is dyslexic

Buzzer · Aug 24, 2013

I can't see what's the big issue here. The bottom line is are customers paying over the odds for goods? Clearly not because it's a huge open market with customers and retailers having ready access to information. We all know the sales guff is overhyped nonsense.

I'd rather the OFT investigates things like retailers in train stations and motorway service stations or service charging with ticket sellers.

Herr Tubthumper · Aug 24, 2013

sebtucknott said:
I agree that some take the piss. But surely if you see a offers of 50% or greater there is a reason for that. When making a purchase if you don't take the time to look around and compare like for like then I don't see how you can complain.

There might be a 'reason for that.' but I believe in the simple premise that businesses should have to tell the truth about their products.

GreersElbow · Aug 24, 2013

Halfords does this with their Apollo range (I quit last year) I always told customers that it was never £400, it's a marketing ploy. Customers appreciated the information and bought a better bike. It was win-win IMO, customer gets what they want, the company get more money as they've just spent a little more on a better bike.

But it's astonishing that people can't tell that selling a product for almost "%75" discount is not really financially sustainable for a business, they'd be losing money if they made such big discounts on products...

Herr Tubthumper · Aug 24, 2013

GreersElbow said:
But it's astonishing that people can't tell that selling a product for almost "%75" discount is not really financially sustainable for a business, they'd be losing money if they made such big discounts on products...

?? A designer I like has a regular sale twice a year and they genuinely have 60% off end of season stock. So it is financially sustainable.

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