06 031 005. Rule CF 110 - Deceptive Pricing
CF 110.01 Prohibited Acts.
It shall constitute an
unfair and deceptive trade act and practice in commerce under 9 V.S.A. Section
2453(a) for a seller or solicitor to solicit purchases of goods or services
through the use of former price comparisons, retail price comparisons, comparable
value comparisons, or other miscellaneous price comparisons which are false
or deceptive.
CF 110.02 Former Price
Comparisons.
(a)
A former price comparison
shall be considered deceptive if the amount declared to be the former price
is not the actual price at which the article was offered to the public for a
reasonably substantial period of time in the recent regular course of the solicitor's
business, unless an earlier time period is clearly specified;
(1)
A former price is
not an actual price if it is set at a specific amount for the purpose of establishing
a ficticious [fictitious] higher price on which a deceptive comparison might
be based;
(2)
A former price is
not an actual price unless:
(A)
the item was offered
for sale for a reasonably substantial period of time at that price and a substantial
quantity of sales were made at that price; or
(B)
the item was openly
offered for sale to the public for a reasonably substantial period of time,
displayed in a reasonable manner, consistent with the display of items of similar
type, and priced at a level established in good faith;
(b)
A former price comparison
shall be considered deceptive if the seller or solicitor uses the words "sale,"
"reduced to," or words of similar import in a solicitation when the
reduction from the actual former price is less than 10% of the actual former
price, unless the solicitation clearly specifies the actual former price and
the current sales price, or clearly specifies the percentage by which the actual
former price is reduced.
CF 110.03 Retail Price
Comparisons.
(a) A retail price comparison
shall be considered deceptive if the seller or solicitor declares or suggests
that his sales price is a bargain price compared to other sellers in the trade
area or a price which is substantially less than the prices being charged by
other sellers in the trade area unless:
(1)
his price is at least
5% lower than the price at which substantial sales of the item are being made
in the trade area; or
(2)
he sets forth at the
time he makes his retail price comparison both his price for the item and the
price or prices being charged by the seller or sellers with whom he is comparing
prices;
(b) A retail price comparison
shall be considered deceptive if the seller or solicitor declares or suggests
that his price is less than list price, regular price, or manufacturer's suggested
price unless:
(1) A substantial number
of sales of the item are being made in the trade area at the list price, regular
price, or manufacturer's suggested price; or
(2) If the seller is the
only person in the trade area selling the particular item, the list price, regular
price, or manufacturer's suggested price meets the qualifications of an "actual
former price" as defined in CF 110.02; or
(3)
If the particular
item has never been sold in the area, the list price is that figure at which
the seller or solicitor expects to make a substantial number of sales. At the
end of three months, the list price must meet the qualifications of CF 110.03
(b)
(1) or CF 110.03 (b)(2). CF 110.04 Comparable Value Comparisons.
A comparable value comparison shall be considered deceptive if the seller or solicitor declares or suggests
that his price is a bargain price compared to the price of another item of similar
grade and quality unless:
(i)
the other item is in fact of similar grade and quality; and
(ii)
1.
his price is at least 5% lower than the price at which substantial sales of the similar item
are being made in the trade area; or
2.
he sets forth at the time he makes the comparable value comparison both his price or prices and the
price or prices being charged by other sellers in the trade area for the item
of similar grade and quality.
CF 110.05 Miscellaneous
Price Comparisons.
A price comparison shall
be deceptive if it contains statements which declare or suggest conditions which
are not true.
Examples of such deceptive
price comparisons include:
(A)
Advertising a retail
price as a wholesale price; and
(B)
Representing prices
to be factory prices when they are not selling at the prices paid by those purchasing
directly from the factory.
