Old Navy Faces Lawsuit for Allegedly Creating False Sense of Urgency in Sales Emails
Key Update:
- Washington consumers filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Old Navy, accusing the retailer of sending customers emails with incorrect information regarding the duration of promotions and sales.
- The emails allegedly advertised that products were on sale for a limited time or that discounts were available for a last-chance offer, when in fact, the sales continued beyond those time frames.
According to the complaint, Old Navy sent emails indicating that customers had a final opportunity to receive a discount. However, the plaintiffs claim that they received emails the next day promoting the same discount. The plaintiffs complain that the emails contained images of ticking clocks and phrases urging recipients to act quickly, even when there was no genuine urgency.
The plaintiffs claim that Old Navy's actions violate both the Consumer Protection Act of Washington and the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act. They are suing for $500 in statutory damages for each email that violates the latter.
The FTC has expressly stated that creating a false sense of urgency is a form of dark patterns.
Print and share
Authors
Notice
Before proceeding, please note: If you are not a current client of Perkins Coie, please do not include any information in this e-mail that you or someone else considers to be of a confidential or secret nature. Perkins Coie has no duty to keep confidential any of the information you provide. Neither the transmission nor receipt of your information is considered a request for legal advice, securing or retaining a lawyer. An attorney-client relationship with Perkins Coie or any lawyer at Perkins Coie is not established until and unless Perkins Coie agrees to such a relationship as memorialized in a separate writing.
Notice
Before proceeding, please note: If you are not a current client of Perkins Coie, please do not include any information in this e-mail that you or someone else considers to be of a confidential or secret nature. Perkins Coie has no duty to keep confidential any of the information you provide. Neither the transmission nor receipt of your information is considered a request for legal advice, securing or retaining a lawyer. An attorney-client relationship with Perkins Coie or any lawyer at Perkins Coie is not established until and unless Perkins Coie agrees to such a relationship as memorialized in a separate writing.
Explore more in
Consumer Protection Review
Consumer Protection Review helps businesses that market and sell to consumers navigate federal and state legal issues related to advertising, privacy, promotions, products liability, government investigations, unfair competition, class actions and general consumer protection.