Macy's, Sears, JC Penney and Kohl's Accused of Tricking Customers with False Deals

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The Los Angeles city attorney's office is expected to file suit Thursday against four big retailers for deceptive advertising, which allegedly misled shoppers into believing that thousands of products were on sale at a hefty discount.

The retailers -- Macy's, Sears, JC Penney and Kohl's -- falsely advertised high "list" or "regular" prices on merchandise that was never actually available at that price, according to the lawsuits. That allegedly caused customers to believe they were getting a better bargain with the "sale" price than they actually were.

California law bans retailers from advertising a higher original price unless a product was actually available at that price within three months of the ad running.

City Attorney Mike Feuer planned to hold a news conference at City Hall Thursday to discuss the suit with reporters. He's expected to stress that customers have the right to know the truth about the prices they're paying and to know if a "bargain" is really a bargain. The suits will seek civil penalties and injunctions to prohibit such practices.

This is not the first time that retailers have gotten in trouble for false reference pricing schemes, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 2015, class action lawsuits were filed against JC Penney and Kohl’s accusing the retailers of tricking customers by inflating original prices. JC Penney eventually settled the suit for $50 million in cash and store credit to customers, and Kohl's agreed to pay $6.15 million.

City News Service; Photo: SchuminWeb via Wikimedia Commons