Nordstrom Fake Sales Overcharge Customers, Class Action Claims

An Alaska woman is challenging an alleged Nordstrom fake sale practice she says is going on in her home state and in California.

Plaintiff Maureen Keating alleges defendant Nordstrom Inc. has been erroneously pricing some of its advertised sale merchandise in a way that results in customers paying more than the marked price on many items. She claims that discrepancies between advertised discounts, the price marked on the tag, and the price charged at the register leave customers paying more than they should.

Keating claims this alleged Nordstrom fake sale has caused her to be overcharged several times.

The Nordstrom class action lawsuit claims that in January 2014, Keating purchased 19 items from a Nordstrom in San Francisco for a total of over $600. When she compared her receipt to the online advertisement that had drawn her into the store, she found she received a sale discount on only one item.

She also found that she had paid more than the advertised sale price on four other items. She had to return to the store and spend hours waiting for a partial refund, she says.

The Nordstrom class action lawsuit further claims that in February 2015, Keating bought a knit top marked as $88 with a printed price tag. Her receipt showed she was charged $98 for that item. She returned to the store to find that all similar tops had been re-priced by hand at $98 – even after she had found the same top available online for $78.

Store staff refused to refund the difference to her, she claims.

Later that month, Keating says she went shopping at a Nordstrom in Anchorage after receiving an advertisement for a sale. She says she was charged full price for all but one item she purchased from Nordstrom that had been marked by hand at a discount of 33 percent or more.

When she returned to the store to request an adjustment, the salesperson allegedly told her the store does not charge the hand-marked price but instead charges whatever price comes up on the computer when the item’s bar code is scanned.

Then in February 2017, Keating says Nordstrom overcharged her for a scarf. She says she was charged the full price of $39 for a scarf that was marked by hand with a 40 percent discount and a final sale price of $23.40.

“Nordstrom is not only engaging in false and deceptive price comparisons, but regularly overcharges its consumers more than the advertised price, which is not only a violation of statutory consumer rights, but constitutes common-law fraud,” according to this Nordstrom fake sale class action lawsuit.

Keating proposes to lead a plaintiff Class that would include all persons in Alaska and California who, within the applicable statutory limitations period, were charged more than the marked sale price on items they purchased from Nordstrom.

She is asking the court to bar Nordstrom from making any sales to its Alaska or California customers “unless and until it can demonstrate to the Court’s and Plaintiff’s satisfaction that it will no longer overcharge its customers.” She also seeks an award of restitution, punitive damages, court costs and attorney’s fees.

Keating is represented by attorney Jason Skala of Law Office of Jason Skala LLC.

The Nordstrom Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Maureen Keating v. Nordstrom Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-00030, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.