You might be hitting the stores this weekend to get a last-minute bargain for Father's Day, but authorities are warning consumers to keep an eye out for bait advertising when grabbing those gifts for dad.

Unscrupulous retailers will sometimes advertise goods at a bargain price with the sole intention of attracting customers to their store knowing that they cannot supply the advertised goods to a reasonable number of consumers. This is called a 'bait and switch' scam.

When you arrive the 'bait' is unavailable which may lead you to buy other more expensive goods. That's the 'switch'. The bait might have been a single item sold to the first person or it might not have been a genuine offer at all.

Retailers should never use non-genuine special offers to attract customers and then try to sell higher-priced goods instead of the advertised special. The Trade Practices Act makes allowances for this kind of situation, but businesses must be able to show they were sincere when making the offer.

Offering rainchecks ensures that consumers may still get the special deal even though the current stocks have run out.

 

More info: ACCC Small Business website and ACCC Misleading Pricing