The Holiday Season is a prime time for companies to heavily push their products. Many advertising practices are manipulative, but not necessarily illegal. However, false advertising or purposefully misleading consumers is a crime and one that the consumer protection attorneys at our Chicago office can help with. If you believe intentionally false or deliberately misleading advertising has caused you financial damage, call Markoff Leinberger at 888-517-9115 to set up a free case evaluation and review your options.

False advertising, alternately known as deceptive advertising, occurs when a company intentionally uses vague, misleading, or deliberately untrue statements to sell a product. Truth-in-advertising laws are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and applied to all possible methods of advertising. This includes print ads, ads on buses and billboards, and those on television. It also applies to ads online and sent through the mail. In short, any advertisement, no matter where it appears, is subject to the standards set forth by the FTC.

Examples of False Advertising

Some fairly straight forward examples of false advertising include:

• Bait and switch
• Hidden or undisclosed fees
• False “sales”
• Acceptance by default

Less obvious violations may include:

• Misuse of the word “natural”
• Changing measurements from standard to metric
• Using incomplete or inconsistent comparisons
• Misleading illustrations or product colors

Any tactic that relies on trickery to sell a product is questionable and should be brought to the attention of an experienced false advertising attorney – double so when it results in serious financial damages.

If you believe you have been lied to by a deceptive company, please contact Markoff Leinberger to schedule a free consultation today. Located in Chicago, our attorneys fight for consumers living in all parts of the country.