Retailers issued fines for offering fake discount prices online in the Netherlands

Webshops owned by famous brands like G-Star, Tommy Hilfiger, Leen Bakker, and JYSK have been fined because they had fake discount promotions, according to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The discounted price did not show the correct former price, the market regulator stated. This is considered as deception because the discount is not as much as people think or does not exist at all.

The biggest fine was given to the company behind the website koopjedeal.nl, which had to pay 163,000 euros. All the money punishments added up to 621,000 euros.

“Price is one of the most important characteristics of a product, and it makes a consumer decide whether or not to purchase it. Fake discounts make consumers think that they are getting an interesting offer when that is not the case,” ACM board member Cateautje Hijmans van den Bergh said. “Consumers should be protected against this. The fines that we are now issuing are an important signal that this has to stop.”

The ACM mentioned one example of a product being discounted from 699 euros to 629 euros when it cost 539 euros less than a month earlier. In these cases, consumers think they are getting a discount but are actually paying more.

Clothing brands G-Star, Tommy Hilfiger, and furniture store chain JYSK have admitted their mistake. Leen Bakker, however, is planning to appeal the fine that has been issued. “We do not mislead our customers. If we offer discounts, then they are real discounts. We therefore reject this accusation from the ACM,” a spokesperson for the furniture retailer responded.

The parent company of koopjedeal.nl, Day Traders, has not recognized the offense and could also appeal the decision.

The regulator discovered fake discounts at more webshops but only issued fines to the companies that broke the rules the most. The ACM will talk with the other companies that did not follow the rules and warn them of the consequences of not doing so.