Barneys Class Action Says Warehouse Reference Prices are ‘Total Fiction’

A recent class action lawsuit claims that Barneys Warehouse stores utilize false reference prices to advertise their products as a good deal.

Plaintiff Kristen Schertzer claims that the luxury brand’s outlet stores use reference pricing that is “total fiction” and does not represent an actual sale price.

“This class action targets Barneys’ unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practice of advertising fictitious prices and corresponding phantom discounts on merchandise sold in its retail outlet stores, Barneys Warehouse,” the Barneys outlet class action lawsuit claims.

“This practice of false reference pricing occurs when a retailer fabricates a fake regular, original, and/or former reference price, and then offers an item for sale at a deep ‘discounted’ price.”

The Barneys class action alleges that this pricing scheme takes advantage of consumers by making them believe that their purchases were incredible deals and that they were receiving products for extreme discounts.

Schertzer utilizes the example of a $100 jacket. A consumer may not be willing to pay this amount for a jacket when no additional advertising is utilized. However, when the jacket is advertised with a “false reference price” of $1,000, the purported 90 percent discount allegedly influences consumer behavior and drives sales.

The Barneys Warehouse class action argues that the reference prices utilized by the retailer are untrue and harmful to consumers. These prices allegedly only serve to generate more sales for Barneys.

“Retailers drastically benefit from employing a false reference pricing scheme and experience increased sales,” Schertzer claims in the Barneys Warehouse class action lawsuit.

According to the Barneys class action, certain products sold in Barneys Warehouse stores were never even sold in Barneys retail locations.

The “white price tags” on these products allegedly indicate that the products were made exclusively for sale at Barneys Warehouse retail locations.

Together with the false reference prices, Barneys pricing scheme reportedly influences consumers to purchase products that they may not have if the false prices were not used in advertising.

“Barneys’ scheme has the effect of tricking consumers into believing they are getting a significant deal by purchasing merchandise at a steep discount, when in reality, consumers are paying for merchandise at its regular retail price,” the Barneys Warehouse class action argues.

Schertzer states that the deceptive acts by Barneys violate federal and California laws including the Federal Trade Commission Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, California’s False Advertising Law, and the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Schertzer seeks to represent a Class of consumers from California who, since Feb. 14, 2015, purchased one or more products at “false discounts” from Barneys Warehouse and have not received a refund or credit for their purchased.

The Barneys Warehouse class action lawsuit seeks restitution, disgorgement, damages, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Schertzer and the proposed Class are represented by Jeffrey D. Kaliel and Sophia Goren Gold of Kaliel PLLC; and Todd D. Carpenter and Alyshia K. Lord of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP.

The Barneys Warehouse Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Schertzer v. Barneys New York Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-00320-H-LL, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.