UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES
KEYWORDS: ANTIMONOPOLY LAW, ANTITRUST, FTC, FAIR TRADE COMMISSION

The Japanese government has taken a number of actions to try to crack down on unfair sales practices. The Fair Trade Commission has ordered five Japanese retailers to stop selling expensive pants labeled as made in Italy, when in fact they were made in Romania. The importer also received a warning from the FTC.

The FTC also gave warnings to Citibank and Shinsei Bank about deceptive advertisements  involving foreign currency deposits. The FTC claimed actual results were much lower than promised results due to various banking fees that were not adequately disclosed.

The government is planning on introducing legislation that would crackdown on unfair sales practices, particularly those targeting the elderly. Door to door salesmen would have to inform customers that the visit is for the purpose of selling something. Salesmen would not be permitted to take customers to small rooms or other confined locations. Although present laws permit a customer to cancel a transaction within an 8 day cooling off period, as salesmen have become more sophisticated in deceiving customers on cancellation policies, new legislation is likely to change the cancellation period to 8 days after they correctly understood the cancellation policy.

The Maebashi District Court rejected a case filed by one electronics retailer against another on claims of unfair sales practices. One retailer put up posters claiming it would beat the prices of its competitor. The plaintiff claimed that it gave the impression that the first firm was selling all its products cheaper than the latter. The court rejected the argument as the posters did not give the impression that its prices were unfairly high.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

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