Tommy Hilfiger Class Action Alleges Deceptive Pricing Scam

A New Jersey consumer says he was tricked by false reference prices used at Tommy Hilfiger stores in a class action lawsuit lodged against the clothing company.

Lead plaintiff Vincent Tripicchio alleges in the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit that the price tags on items in various New Jersey locations contain a “reference” price that the store implies is what the item is sold for at other locations.

Tommy Hilfiger then provides a “sales” price that is far below the reference price.

However, Tripicchio says the reference prices are false as the items are never offered for sale at the higher prices, but consumers purchase the products under the impression that they are getting a deal.

Tripicchio claims that he purchased several items at a New Jersey Tommy Hilfiger store after being deceived by these false reference prices.

According to the Tommy Hilfiger class action, the plaintiff purchased a shirt with a reference price of $69.99, but offered on “sale” for $27.99. The plaintiff purchased the shirt for a price that he thought was a deep discount, however, he discovered that the shirt and others like it had never been offered for sale at the much higher $69.99 reference price.

Tripicchio alleges that he had a similar experience with a pair of pants he thought he purchased at a 30 percent discount, but were actually never offered for sale at the reference price included on the item’s tag.

“The tagged reference prices are consistently higher than the actual ‘sales’ prices of the items, and purport to be either (a) a comparison price for the item…or (b) the item’s former or original price,” explains the Tommy Hilfiger sale class action.

“The actual sale prices of the items in Defendant’s Tommy Hilfiger Company Stores in New Jersey – i.e., the prices at which Defendant offers items for sale, and actually sells items, on a daily basis – are nearly always much lower than the advertised reference prices, typically by 30% to 70%.”

According to the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit, most consumers would think that the items labeled with the higher reference prices would have been sold at those prices; however, they would be wrong.

“The reference prices listed on Defendant’s price tags under this uniform policy, however, do not represent actual prices at which the same or comparable items were ever sold or offered for sale for a substantial period of time by anyone; whether in New Jersey or elsewhere,” contends the complaint.

“Rather, the reference prices listed on Defendant’s tags are wholly fictitious and inflated prices, fabricated by Defendant as a marketing tool according to a standardized formula, intended specifically to induce the false and misleading impression in the minds of consumers that the consumer goods bearing such tags are being offered for sale at a discounted price that is lower than their usual selling price in the market place, and that the goods are of such quality that they are actually worth that higher price.”

In addition to being dishonest and deceiving customers, the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit accuses the company of violating state and federal consumer protection laws.

The plaintiff is represented by Ross H. Schmierer of DeNittis Osefchen Prince PC.

The Tommy Hilfiger Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Tripicchio v. PVH Corporation, Case No. 1:19-cv-06147-JGK, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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