Deceptive Practices including Misrepresentation of Product

Deceptive Practice- refer to those acts that mislead deliberately or acts that
cause one to believe what is not true or cause one not to believe what is true, the
intention of which is to take unfair advantage of another
3 Categories of Deceptive Practices
Deceptive pricing - includes practices such as falsely advertising factory or
wholesale prices or a large price reduction from a phony high retail list price
Deceptive promotion - includes practices such as misrepresenting the products
features or performance or luring the customer to the store for a bargain that is out
of stock
Deceptive packaging - includes exaggerating packaging contents through subtle
design, using misleading labeling or describing size in misleading terms
Misrepresentation- is observed when there is a transformation of information to
misinformation
2 Types of Misrepresentation
Intentional misrepresentation- the person is fully aware or deliberately
misrepresents things
Unintentional misrepresentation- the person is not aware and does not
deliberately act on misrepresenting things
Lying- the act of making others believe something that they, themselves, do not
believe in
4 Types of Lying
Use of ambiguous terms- the act of deliberately using vague term or open-ended
statements that can have several meanings to mislead people that one is telling the
truth
Use of false statements- the act of making a statement from which false
conclusions may be drawn
Lying through action- the person gets caught in the act of wrongdoing
Suppression of correct information- an intentional or unintentional act of hiding
the correct information
Direct Misrepresentation- characterized by actively misrepresenting something
about the product or service
8 Examples of Direct Misrepresentation
Deceptive packaging- placing the product in containers of exaggerated sizes and
misleading shapes to give a false impression of its actual contents
Adulteration- corrupting a genuine commodity by imitating or adding something
to increase its bulk, volume or even by substituting an inferior product for a superior
one for the purpose of profit or gain
Misbranding or Mislabeling- act of copying a products design to the closest
possible way giving an impression that it is the same with the leading brand
Short Weighing- mechanism of the weighing scale is tampered with or something
is unobtrusively attached to it so that the scale registers more than the actual
weight
Shortchanging- is when the buyer receive less than what should be taken
Short measuring- is when the meter stick or standard is shorter than the real
length or smaller in volume than the standard
Short numbering- seller gives the consumer the quantity by piece of the product
less than the number he has paid for
Misleading advertising- greatly exaggerates the virtues of a product and tells
only half of the truth or else sings praises to its non-existing virtues

Indirect Misrepresentation- characterized by omitting adverse information about

the product or service
3 Common Practices involved in Indirect Misrepresentation
Caveat emptor- (let the buyer beware) is the responsibility of the consumer to
determine the defects or negative features of the product
Deliberately withholding information- no business transaction is fair where one
of the parties does not exactly know what he is giving away or receiving in return
Business ignorance-unable to provide the consumer with the complete
information he needs to make a fair decision