According to US Federal and State Laws, a deceitful marketing practice is defined as,
“The act of using illusory, misleading, or false claims to sell a product or service to the customer.”
The false advertising laws specify that customers deserve to know everything about the product or service they’re buying. This includes everything from the physical aspects of the offering to the intrinsic value, risks, and potential side-effects.
Responsible advertising is extremely important to keep the end-consumer safe from physical or psychological damages. This duty falls on the advertising agencies and the manufacturing company to show what the product actually entails.
If a customer is harmed due to deceitful marketing or false advertising practices, the False Advertising Law can be applied to sue the liable party. This mandates the presence of a consumer protection attorney who is well aware about all the facets of the Consumer Protection Law.
When determining the at-fault party, FTC looks at the extent of the wrongful claims shown in the ad. The final ruling depends on the damage suffered by the victim and whether the ad agency knew about the potential defects.
The same applies to online marketing practices. With ecommerce on the rise, it’s important to know your rights as an online shopper. Check out FTC’s rulings on online advertisements here.
Let’s talk about how you can spot a deceitful marketing campaign and save yourself from the harsh consequences.
Check the Images
The most common way of deceiving customers is using unrealistic imagery and visuals. A classic example would be how a fast food chain’s burger ad hardly matches their actual product.
Therefore, as a customer, you must pay close attention to the image of product. If the actual deliverable doesn’t match it, it can be categorized as false advertising.
Business Avoids Customer Queries
A major red flag; dishonest sellers try to steer clear of answering questions about their products or services. This indicates that there may be something wrong with their offering that they’re trying to hide.
Always ask straight forward questions from the seller as you’re entitled to know everything about a product before purchasing it.
Free Isn’t Free
You might have come across many freebie deals and buy one get one free marketing tactics. However, sometimes, these deals are very misleading. Focus on the product that the company is trying to sell out as a free deliverable. There might be hidden costs that actually compensates the seller for the free product they’re offering.
Other ways to spot a false marketing tactic include:
- Price product comparison (The product quality and quantity doesn’t justify its price)
- Unrealistic claims (Dietary supplements and beauty products ads are the most prominent examples)
At Top Performance Legal, our adept consumer legal remedies lawyer San Diego California know how to navigate false advertisement cases using the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), Unfair Competition Law (UCL), and the False Advertising Law (FAL).
We also work on dietary supplement law and the FDA supplement regulations to help consumers seek rightful compensation for their damages.
Contact us today for case consultation or learn more about our practice areas here.