Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 06 - OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL › Sub-Agency 031 - CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION › Chapter 001 - RULE CF 103 - BAIL ADVERTISING › Section 06 031 001 - RULE CF 103 - BAIL ADVERTISING

Current through June, 2024
Section 103.01  Offers Which ARe Not Bona Fide
The solicitation of consumers to purchase goods or services
				when the solicitation is not a bona fide effort to sell the advertised goods or
				services constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade act and practice in commerce
				under
				9 V.S.A.
				Section 2453(a).
(a)  A solicitation is not bona fide when the
			 seller or solicitor uses a statement or illustration in any advertisement which
			 would create in the mind of a reasonable consumer a false impression of the
			 grade, quality, quantity, make, value, model year, size, color, usability, or
			 origin of the goods or services offered or which otherwise misrepresents the
			 goods or services in such a manner that, on subsequent disclosure or discovery
			 of the true facts, the consumer may be switched from the advertised goods or
			 services to other goods or services.
(b)  A solicitation is not bona fide if a
			 seller or solicitor discourages the purchase of the advertised goods or
			 services in order to sell other goods or services. Examples of acts or
			 practices which usually tend to discourage the purchase of the advertised goods
			 are:
(1)  The failure to reasonably display
			 the advertised goods at the advertised prices, if the goods are advertised for
			 sale in a retail store;
(2)  The
			 refusal to show, demonstrate, or sell the goods or services advertised in
			 accordance with the terms of the advertisement;
(3)  Disparagement by the seller or solicitor
			 either by acts or words of:
(A)  The
			 advertised goods or services; or
(B)  The guarantee, warranty, credit terms,
			 availability of service, repairs, or parts or any other aspect of the goods or
			 services;
(4)  The
			 showing or demonstrating of goods or services which are defective, unusable, or
			 impractical for the purposes represented in the advertisement;
(5)  The use of a sales plan or method of
			 compensation for salesmen (or penalizing salesmen) designed to prevent or
			 discourage them from selling the advertised goods or services;
(c)  A solicitation is not bona
			 fide if a seller or solicitor fails to have available at all outlets listed in
			 the advertisement a sufficient quantity of the advertised goods or services at
			 the advertised price to meet reasonably anticipated demands, unless the
			 advertisement clearly and adequately discloses the approximate quantity of
			 advertised goods or services available and/or that the goods or services are
			 available only at the designated outlets;
(d)  Notwithstanding the fact that a seller or
			 solicitor does have "sufficient quantities" as described in CF 103.01(c), a
			 solicitation is still not bona fide if the seller or solicitor refuses, after
			 the original quantity of goods is exhausted, to take orders for the advertised
			 goods at the advertised price during the period of the sale or, if no period is
			 stated, for a reasonable period of time after the solicitation appears, to be
			 delivered within a reasonable period of time; provided, however, that a
			 solicitation would be bona fide if the seller or solicitor has clearly and
			 adequately disclosed the approximate quantity of advertised goods available or
			 if he cannot obtain the advertised goods within a reasonable period of time at
			 or below the former price to him.