Chapter 93A – The Consumer Protection Act
It is unlawful in Massachusetts under Chapter 93 A section 2a for a Massachusetts business to engage in any “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.” If a judge in a Massachusetts Superior or District Court finds a Massachusetts business to have committed such a violation of chapter 93A, that business might face up to three times the normal damage award that the judge would have given to the person or business who filed the complaint. THREE TIMES NORMAL BUSINESS DAMAGES – Yes…I am yelling here.
How Could My Business Violate Chapter 93A?
There are many ways in which a business might violate Chapter 93A, that is be considered by a court in Massachusetts to have engage in unfair methods of competition or deceptive acts or practices. Please find a below a number of the most common allegations made against Massachusetts businesses relative to the violation of this Act.
The Business Charged More than the Price that was Marked, Published or Advertised
In most instances a product that is listed or presented by certain types of business operating within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts must be clearly marked, published or advertised. The rationale behind such a policy is to prevent business owners from drawing people into the business with an advertisement or marked price on a product and then switching that price to a higher price at checkout. Clearly marked prices create honest businessman.
Businesses that play with this requirement are playing with fire. As a business owner
No Clear Refund or Return Policy
The refund policy of your business should be posted and legible. This is perhaps the simplest thing that a business can do to reduce risk exposure. Posting the business’s refund policy reduces the ability of a customer to allege in their complaint in court that the business has been deceptive by failing to notify customers of such a policy. Further, the customer will also allege that the business’s failure to post the refund policy was a strategy to avoid having to abide by its policy. All of this mess is easily avoided by posting the policy.
Defective items, in Massachusetts, must be refunded, repaired or replaced by a business if the business sold a defective product. Be certain, as a business owner, to ensure that (wherever possible) items are in good operating condition to avoid this risk.
Lastly, most Massachusetts courts would consider a business that has misrepresented its own refund policy as a deceptive act and therefore, a violation of Chapter 93A. For this reason, it is extremely important that salespersons are trained on the refund policy, that they sign of as having received adequate training of that policy and that they do not misrepresent that policy. Often, salespersons who work on a commission basis can put themselves and the business that hires them in legal hot water by misrepresenting the refund policy for the purpose of making a sale. While such an action by a salesperson may expose the salesperson themselves to liability, the business that hires such a salesperson could also find itself in violation of the deceptive act section of Chapter 93A.
The Failure of a Massachusetts Business to Inform the Customer About Information the Customer Needs to Know About the Product
Some items are either expressly warrantied or impliedly warrantied by a business. While this topic is complex and numerous variations of warranties may be involved in a particular business transaction, it is sufficient to note that where a Massachusetts business had made expressly or has implied a warranty in a given transaction, that business should make the customer aware of that fact. Businesses can find themselves accused of violating Chapter 93A where they ought to have made a customer aware of a warranty (by including the warranty in physical form with the item, for example), but have not.
Support for Your Massachusetts Business
If you operate a business in Massachusetts and have concerns about protecting that business from the liability associated with the operation of your business contact attorney Gaudet for more a review of your business practices.
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