Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 23 - JUSTICE › Chapter 23.19 - CONSUMER PROTECTION OFFICE › Subchapter 23.19.1 - Unlawful Acts or Practices › Rule 23.19.101 - UNLAWFUL ACTS OR PRACTICES

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) A person
				engages in unfair or deceptive and therefore unlawful acts or practices when,
				in the conduct of any trade or commerce, he:
(a) represents that merchandise is of a
				particular make or brand, when it is on another;
(b) makes a false representation as to the
				source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of merchandise;
(c) makes a false representation as to his
				affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by,
				another;
(d) makes a false
				representation or designation of the geographic origin of
				merchandise;
(e) makes a false
				representation as to the characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits,
				alterations or quantities of merchandise, or a false representation as to the
				sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection of a person
				therewith;
(f) represents that
				merchandise is original or new if he knows or should have known that it is
				reconditioned, reclaimed, used or secondhand;
(g) represents that merchandise is of a
				particular standard, style, or model, if it is of another;
(h) advertises merchandise with intent not to
				sell it as advertised;
(i)
				advertises merchandise with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public
				demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity;
(j) advertises under the guise of offering
				employment opportunities when in fact the purpose is to sell merchandise to the
				applicants;
(k) makes false and
				misleading statements of fact concerning the price of merchandise or the reason
				for existence of, or amounts of a price reduction;
(l) states that a transaction involves
				rights, remedies or obligations that it does not involve; or
(m) employs "bait and switch" advertising
				which is an alluring but insincere offer to sell a product of service which the
				advertiser in truth does not intend or want to sell. Its purpose is to switch
				consumers from buying the advertised merchandise, in order to sell something
				else, usually at a higher price or on a basis more advantageous to the
				advertiser. Said advertising is generally accompanied by one or more of the
				following practices:
(i) the refusal to show,
				demonstrate, or sell the product offered in accordance with the terms of the
				offer;
(ii) misleading
				disparagement in any respect of the advertised merchandise or the terms of
				sale;
(iii) requiring undisclosed
				tie-in sales or other undisclosed conditions to be met prior to selling the
				advertised merchandise;
(iv)
				refusal to take orders for the merchandise advertised or falsely claiming that
				said merchandise cannot be delivered at the same price within reasonable
				time;
(v) showing or demonstrating
				defective merchandise which the seller knows or should have known is unusable
				or impracticable for the purpose set forth in the advertisement;
(vi) accepting a deposit for the merchandise
				and subsequently charging the buyer for a higher priced item unless requested
				to do so by the buyer; or
(vii)
				failure without good cause to either make deliveries of the merchandise within
				a reasonable time or to make a refund therefore upon the request of the
				purchaser.
NOTE: Sales of the advertised merchandise do not preclude the
				  existence of a bait and switch scheme. Even though the true facts are
				  subsequently made known to the buyer, the law is violated if the first contact
				  or interview is secured by deception.
(n) fails to disclose in all advertising or
				other promotional material, the legal name of the company and the complete
				street address from which the business is actually conducted;
(o) fails to disclose all of the conditions
				relating to "free" or similar offers. When making "free" or similar offers, all
				the terms, conditions and obligations upon which receipt and retention of the
				"free" items are contingent must be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the
				outset of the offer so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of
				the offer might be misunderstood.
NOTE: A more complete statement of this rule is found at 16
				  CFR 251.
(p) employs
				deceptive pricing practices. Said practices generally involve advertising for
				sale or selling merchandise at a "bargain" price and may be characterized by
				the following:
(i) offering merchandise at a
				reduction from the advertiser's own former price when in fact the former price
				is not the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the
				public on regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time;
(ii) offering goods at prices lower than
				those being charged by others for the same merchandise in the advertiser's
				trade area when, in fact, the higher price he advertises exceeds the price at
				which substantial sales of the article are being made in the area;
(iii) offering additional merchandise to be
				given to a customer on the condition that he purchase a particular article at
				the price usually offered by the advertiser where the seller, in making such an
				offer, increases his regular price of the article required to be bought, or
				decreases the quantity and quality of that article, or otherwise attached
				conditions (other than the basic condition that the article be purchased in
				order for the purchaser to be entitled to the "free" or "1 cent" additional
				merchandise).
NOTE: The practices covered in this section on deceptive
				  pricing set forth the most common forms of bargain advertising and sale. A more
				  complete list is provided by 16 CFR 233.