How Alabama Laws Protect you from Deceptive Trade Practices

While in the market, especially for a large purpose, customers will typically shop around for the best deal. With honest sellers, higher quality products sell for more while lower quality, used, and damaged products sell for less. Unfortunately, that is not the case for everyone.

Sometimes, sellers attempt to trick consumers into paying more for lower quality or defective products. There are many tactics available to less reputable salesmen to fool their customers. These are known as Deceptive Trade Practices and are covered under the law in the state of Alabama. When dealing with salesmen, there are some  practices to look out for.

• Stating False Claims: This is when a salesmen tells you a lie about the performance or the product, such as the mpg of a vehicle or the effects of a new multivitamin.
• Misleading Consumers: This happens often with confusing advertising and loosely worded promotions are developed specifically to trick consumers into thinking they are receiving a good deal, free service, or other benefits only to be presented with a high bill or even billed later for the exchange. Often, this occurs when a salesman lies about the promotion. Unfortunately, other times, the misleading materials have fine print that thoroughly explains the charges. Such cases may not be valid for damages. Because of this, it is always important to always read contracts and all fine print completely before signing an agreement.
• Hiding Age and Use: This occurs when a vehicle odometer is rolled backwards, when a used item is being marketed as brand new, or any time a salesman lies about or hides known information about age and hours used.
• Covering Damages: In vehicles, this is achieved by hiding the accident report of a vehicle or lying about the aesthetic repairs done by their body shop. This is extremely important because many car accidents leave damage typically unseen that can be dangerous or problematic to the consumer. In general, this occurs any time a seller covers or lies about the damages on a product.

These points can help consumers keep a sharp eye out for shady and harmful business practices, but unfortunately, people can still fall victim to them. In the state of Alabama, a victim of Deceptive Trade Practices can be awarded damages when exposing those responsible. If this ever happens, the first and best step to make is to contact a lawyer for legal guidance.