Personal Finance: When a sale is not a sale

EVERYONE LOVES a bargain, but shoppers would do well to eye with scepticism the "massive reduction" stickers of the January sales. It's what you spend, not what you save, that counts.

In fact, the term "sale" does not mean "to sell at a lower price" at all, either legally or actually. It merely describes a retailing event when goods are sold, according to the Institute of Trading Standards Administration. Trading standards officers are becoming increasingly concerned at the way retailers are routinely flouting laws controlling the way goods are priced.

It is a criminal offence to mislead customers that the price of an item has been cut by falsely claiming it was previously on sale for more. Yet some creative pricing allows even reputable stores to do just that.

To claim a genuine reduction, an item must have been on sale at a higher price for at least 28 days during the previous six months. Many of the big chains, however, will claim a massive reduction when something has been displayed for more at just one branch.

The London stores which target tourists are often used to test higher prices where there was never any intention of selling an item so dearly across the country. Furthermore, recommended retail prices and manufacturers' recommended prices, which have been banned by the Department of Trade and Industry for misleading customers and allowing stores to price-fix, have given way to ASP, or after-sales prices, a promise of what something might be sold at in the future.

Eric Robinson, chairman of the Institute of Trading Standards Administration, warns: "Consumers are given the impression that prices will soar once the sale is over. An ASP is simply a claim that something may be priced more highly when the sale is over. But it is unenforceable."

Many stores will claim huge discounts on goods which are imported, especially for the January sales, but which may be of inferior quality. This is a particularly hazardous area for shoppers because not only are price comparisons impossible, but normal consumer protection measures may also be invalid.

As with pre-sale goods, you can claim a cash refund on any faulty item: signs indicating otherwise, such as "no sale goods exchanged", are illegal. Report the shopkeeper to the local trading standards department. Similarly, where the retailer insists you sign an acceptance note, you have not legally "accepted" the item and can still claim a refund where something is broken. But where faults are pointed out to you, or you could have reasonably been expected to see them, the right to an automatic refund is lost. So if clothes are advertised as seconds, then a "reasonable" shopper is expected to examine them carefully and discover the fault.

John Lewis, whose sale started on Tuesday, admits to importing "second quality" products from its manufacturers during its bi-annual clearances. A spokesman explains: "We do not use the term sale. We prefer `clearance' because that is exactly what we do. Our twice-yearly clearance is intended to clear the previous season's stock."

But Arcadia, which comprises Burton's, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Principles, Top Shop, Top Man, Hawkshead and Racing Green, is adamant it does not import inferior stock for the sale. A spokesman explained: "We have a very tough group-wide policy which prevents stock being carried over from season to season. If, at the end of the sale, items remain unsold, then we would pass them on to the sales outlets in factory villages."