Courtesy Citybizlist — 2 Days Only! … Final Day – 70% OFF EVERY SUIT! 50% … OFF Every Dress Shirt and more … JoS. A. Bank Clothiers commercials are known for their call to action.
It seems that the sense of urgency hasn’t set well with a pair of erstwhile customers.
A class action complaint has been filed against JoS. A. Bank alleging that the retailer’s merchandise is “perpetually on sale and the sale price is actually the price at which the merchandise is regularly offered.”
James Waldron and Matthew Villani, both from New Jersey, filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Case 2:33-av-00001).
JoS. A. Bank Clothiers said in a regulatory filing that it intends to “defend this lawsuit vigorously.”
Citybizlist procured the court document (scroll down to view it in its entirety) and has excerpted a few blurbs of the accusation:
– “Jos. A. Bank’s misleading, inaccurate and deceptive marketing cultivates the perception that consumer (sic) are being offered a discount from the Company’s regular prices when, in fact, they are not. Plaintiffs and the Class were intended to and did rely upon Jos. A. Bank’s representations when they purchased Jos. A. Bank merchandise. Plaintiffs and the Class would not have purchased Jos. A. Bank merchandise, or would have paid significantly less for the merchandise, if Jos. A. Bank had not represented that the merchandise had a “regular price” that was well above the “sale” price. As a result, Jos. A. Bank has handsomely profited from its misrepresentations to the detriment of Plaintiffs and the Class …”
– “Jos. A. Bank uses this method of advertising knowing that consumers would rely on the misrepresentation that the Company’s merchandise is on sale, creating a false sense of urgency to purchase Jos. A. Bank’s merchandise. Accordingly, Jos. A. Bank’s advertisements and promotions to sell its merchandise are perpetually false and misleading.”
– “Each advertised sale is described as being of a limited duration, thus creating the false impression that the price of the merchandise will increase back to the ‘regular price’ if a consumer does not make a purchase by the end of the sale. To increase a consumer’s sense of urgency about the expiration of the sale, Jos. A. Bank’s advertisements use expressions such as ‘Final Day!’, ‘2 Days Only!’, ‘Monday & Tuesday Only!’, ‘Today Only!’, ‘1-Day Only!’, ‘Final Hours!’, etc. As a result, consumers are misled into believing that the ‘sale’ is a limited time event. However, there are no ‘final days’ to sales offered by Jos. A. Bank, as the Company places merchandise back “on sale” immediately after a given sale ends.”
Waldron asserts that he would not have:
– “purchased Jos. A. Bank merchandise during the Class Period. At the time of his purchase, Jos. A. Bank marketed, advertised and promoted its merchandise as being ‘on sale.’ However, in contrast to the manner in which Jos. A. Bank merchandise was marketed, advertised and promoted, the merchandise purchased by Mr. Waldron was not ‘on sale,’ and the regular price was not the actual price of the merchandise, as represented. As a result of Jos. A. Bank’s misleading, and/or inaccurate, and/or deceptive marketing, advertising and promotion of its merchandise, Mr. Waldron suffered an ascertainable loss. Had Jos. A. Bank informed Mr. Waldron at the time of his purchase that the merchandise he purchased was not ‘on sale,’ and that the merchandise did not have a ‘regular price’ that was well above the ‘sale’ price. He would not have purchased the merchandise or would have paid substantially less for the merchandise that he purchased.”
