American furniture retailer Joybird, has found itself embroiled in a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court, accused of employing false reference pricing tactics – a practice involving fabricating original prices of items before selling them at marked-down rates.
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The class-action lawsuit centres on plaintiff Christina Thiele-Yancy's claims of false advertising and deliberate or negligent misrepresentation by the company. Thiele-Yancy alleges that the company's discounts are widespread, creating a misleading impression that their regular prices are significantly higher than the actual rates.
In her complaint, Thiele-Yancy mentioned a substantial purchase in September 2021, including an ottoman, sectional, and sofa from Joybird's website. She believed she was benefiting from substantial discounts and felt pressured into making quick purchase decisions. However, immediately after each purportedly time-constrained sale ends, the company introduced a similar discount with a new expiration date.
Both Joybird and La-Z-Boy, the parent company of Joybird, have yet to respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
This marks the third major furniture retailer within a year to face allegations of false reference pricing. Last February, American Freight, a Top 100 retailer, faced a similar lawsuit in California. And recently, Ashley Furniture settled a class-action suit, resolving allegations of misleading customers about the actual worth of certain products.
Source: www.furnituretoday.com