J.Crew Class Action Alleges Fake Former Price Advertising Scam

A class action lawsuit claims that J.Crew advertises “fake sales” to make consumers think they are getting a better deal than they actually are.

Plaintiffs Adam Press, Dana Delman, and Caron Colodonato allege that J.Crew has been advertising “false reference pricing,” or misrepresenting a regular sales price of an item advertised as “on sale,” in an effort to entice consumers into buying their products.

The J.Crew class action lawsuit claims the company misrepresents original prices at J.Crew merchandise stores, J.Crew Factory (or outlet) stores, and J.Crew’s website.

Allegedly, this practice violates federal law which requires retailers to only offer genuine discounts from regular retail prices, “not false discounts from inflated original prices.”

The J.Crew fake sale class action lawsuit claims this process violates California law which “prohibits the discounting of retail merchandise from its original price for more than ninety (90) days.”

The plaintiffs say J.Crew never offered the products at their advertised “reference price,” making the sale price invalid.

The J.Crew false sale advertising class action lawsuit claims that the “fake sales” were advertised across platforms, including on in-store signage and online advertising.

Language reportedly includes “Take 40% Off Ticketed Price” and “50% OFF EVERYTHING,” with clothing labels showing an original price at which the item was never offered, and a reduced “sale” price.

Press and the others J.Crew shoppers claim that consumers often purchase items that are on sale that they would not otherwise buy because they perceive the value of the item to be higher than the price they pay.

Allegedly, consumers purchase items on sale to get the best deal possible and attempt to use the original price to discern the value of the product.

Congress has noted that this problem is common among outlet stores, stating that they “are concerned that outlet store consumers are being misled into believing they are purchasing products originally intended for sale at the regular retail store. Many outlets may also be engaged in deceptive reference pricing. It is a common practice at outlet stores to advertise a retail price alongside the outlet store price — even on made-for-outlet merchandise that does not sell at regular store or at regular retail locations.”

The J.Crew class action lawsuit states that J.Crew’s practice is part if a widely scrutinized trend in outlet stores and extends to regular merchandise stores as well.

So, Press and the other plaintiffs claim that J.Crew’s use of false reference prices to sell their items intentionally misleads consumers, making it difficult or impossible for them to discern the true value of the product and make an informed purchasing decision.

Allegedly, California Legislature has prohibited this practice because they see it as widely misleading to consumers.

The J.Crew fake sale pricing class action lawsuit claims that J.Crew intentionally misleads consumers to increase its profits, thus unjustly enriching itself, and financially injuring consumers by denying them the full benefit of the advertised bargain of the products.

The J.Crew shoppers are represented by Gene J. Stonebarger and Richard D. Lambert of Stonebarger Law APC, Zev B. Zysman of Law Offices of Zev B. Zysman, Thomas A. Kearney and Prescott W. Littlefield of Kearney Littlefield LLP, David N. Lake of Law Offices of David N. Lake, Laurence D. Paskowitz of The Paskowitz Law Firm PC, Roy L. Jacobs of Roy Jacobs & Associates, and Ross H. Schmierer of DeNittis Osefchen Prince PC.

The J.Crew Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Adam Press, et al. v. J.Crew Group Inc., et al., in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Ventura.