Ashley Furniture class action over deceptive pricing dismissed

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Update:

• A class action lawsuit accusing Ashley Furniture of running a deceptive pricing scheme was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice in a California federal court. 
• Stephanie Aberl, the consumer behind the complaint, chose to drop her claims against the furniture company.
• No reason was given for the voluntary dismissal. 
• Ashley Furniture had been accused of using fake original sale prices to make consumers believe they were getting items at a discounted price. 
• Aberl claimed Ashley Furniture violated a trio of California consumer protection laws, as well as allegedly being guilty of fraud.  
• The complaint was originally filed in April 2022, with Aberl demanding a jury trial at that time. 

Ashley Furniture class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Stephanie Aberl has filed a class action lawsuit against Ashley Furniture.
• Why: Ashley Furniture allegedly dupes customers with fake “original” sale prices to entice them to purchase items advertised at a purported discount price.
• Where: The Ashley Furniture class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

(April 18, 2022)

Ashley Furniture Industries LLC faces a false advertising class action lawsuit alleging the furniture chain dupes customers with fictitious “original” prices, leading them to falsely believe they are purchasing furniture at bargain prices.

Plaintiff Stephanie Alberl of California says she relied on Ashley’s deceptive pricing scheme when she purchased a metal twin bed and mattress from the company’s website. The twin bed allegedly was listed at a sale price of $96.99 with a reference price listed at $159.99.

Aberl alleges she decided to purchase the metal twin bed because she believed the discounted price would not last long, and she believed she received a significant bargain of nearly 40% off the regular price of the bed.

“However, this product was never offered for sale at the original price listed on Ashley Furniture’s e-commerce website and certainly not within the 90 days preceding [Aberl’s] purchase,” the deceptive pricing class action lawsuit alleges. “Nor was it listed for sale at the full price in an Ashley Furniture brick and mortar store.”

Ashley Furniture false reference pricing artificially inflates true market price, plaintiff claims

The class action lawsuit explains that false reference pricing occurs when a seller lists a fake “original” price for a product and offers the product at a significantly lower “sale” price to entice bargain hunters to purchase the product.

This type of deceptive pricing allegedly “artificially inflates the true market price for these products by raising consumers’ internal reference price and in turn the value consumers ascribe to these products.”

Retailers are thus able to sell products at prices above their true market price and value, leaving customers to pay inflated prices, according to the deceptive pricing class action lawsuit.

The class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s unfair competition laws, false advertising laws and the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Aberl filed the deceptive pricing class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed class of people in California who purchased one or more products from the Ashley website that were advertised at a discount from an advertised reference price who have not received a refund or credit for their purchase.

Ashley has also faced allegations that it failed to list promised delivery dates on sales documents in violation of New Jersey state laws.

Have you purchased items from the Ashley Furniture website? What do you think about the deceptive pricing scheme allegations? Join the discussion in the comments below.

Aberl is represented by Todd D. Carpenter and Scott G. Braden of Lynch Carpenter LLP.

The Ashley Furniture false reference pricing class action lawsuit is Stephanie Aberl v. Ashley Furniture Industries LLC, et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-00505-JLS-NLS, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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