A common marketing strategy employed by many product or service vendors is to announce a “special offer” price that is only available for a limited period. Typically, the consumer would have a make a decision on the spot (during a preview or sales presentation) in order to get the discounted price.
While this practice is fairly common in retail shops (think of all the ongoing sales we see everyday) and many seminar organisers, those who engage in such practices might have to be more careful judging from how Small Claims Tribunal recently judged.
“Under s 4(d) of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (Cap 52A, 2004 Rev Ed) read with paragraph 7 of the 2nd Schedule, the representation that a price benefit exists where it actually does not, constitutes an unfair practice.”