How to buy in sales Misleading sales

Everyone loves a sale. But not all sales are genuine – unscrupulous shops sometimes mislead us by, for instance, having introductory sales that last for months. But there are laws that say what shops can and cannot do when advertising sales.

Your right to know that sale prices are genuine

In May 2008, the government introduced guidelines about sale prices. If a shop is advertising a sale they have to follow rules in order to ensure it's genuine.

For instance, before reducing prices in a sale, the products must have been sold at a higher price for 28 consecutive days in that branch of the store, immediately before the sale, unless they put up a sign explaining the offer.

It shouldn't be on offer at the sale price for longer than it's at the higher price unless the shop displays a sign explaining how the sale differs from these rules or if something is going out of date.

The original price must be clearly displayed along with the sale price. A sign cannot just say 'sale £20' – it must say something like 'was £40, sale price £20'.

Making sure introductory sales are fair

Retailers often use introductory sales to tempt people to buy something or sign up for a service on the spot.

To be lawful, traders advertising introductory sales must sell the same product or service in the same outlet at a higher price after the sale period is over.

The introductory sale should not run for an excessively long period of time. A reasonable time for an introductory sale is considered to be weeks rather than months.