One type of false advertising is known as a bait and switch. A company may try to attract customers through deceptive means. Not only is this a problem for those customers, but it can be an issue for other businesses who feel that they are now facing unfair competition.
But how does a bait and switch work? In many cases, it means that a company will advertise a product that they don’t actually have or at a lower price than they’re actually going to provide. They’re just trying to get people to see the advertisement and come to the store. Once those potential customers arrive, they are offered something that is much different than what they expected.
The item was never in stock
For example, say that a product typically costs $500, but a company runs an ad saying that they’ll be selling it for $200. Many people who already wanted this product immediately come to the store because they see it as an exceptionally good deal.
But when they arrive, they’re told that, unfortunately, that item is now out of stock. The only thing the store can do is offer them a similar item, but it costs the full $500.
If there was a legitimate sale and the products simply sold before those customers arrived, this isn’t an issue. But it becomes a bait and switch if those items were never in stock to begin with. The company never had any intention of selling them at a lower price, but just wanted to try to upsell customers once they arrived at the physical location.
A similar issue could be if a car dealership advertised a very low lease on a specific model, but every customer who arrived was told that they didn’t actually have that model on the lot, and then the salesmen tried to talk them into a more expensive lease.
Issues with business fraud and unfair competition can be very serious, and a bait and switch is just one example of how this happens. Those involved must know what legal steps to take.
