The Colorado Consumer Protection Act provides an extensive definition of deceptive trade practices. The act states that a person or business can engage in deceptive trade practices in a number of ways while going about business or a job and goes on to provide details of over 40 ways such practices can occur.
The first way a person or business can act deceptively during trade is to knowingly and willfully pass off the services or goods being provided as belonging to someone when they don’t. Other deceptive trade practices that involve knowingly providing false information or services include making false statements about goods or services to get a sale or client or falsely affiliating oneself with an organization.
Another deceptive practice is selling goods and products by saying they are new or unused when you know they aren’t. Even if something is in like-new condition, if it was previously used, you have to let customers know that. The same is true for the quality of a product. You can’t sell meat of one grade by stating it is another or pass off generic goods as designer items.
These are all some obvious deceptive practices, but the law lists numerous other practices that can be considered deceptive. For example, if a business advertises for certain types of employees, but the purpose of the advertisement is really to drum up leads so the business can first sell a product, that is considered deceptive. If you falsely present information about a competing company or product in advertising, not only might you be engaging in deceptive practices, but you could also be dealing with issues of slander and libel.
Because the list of deceptive practices is so long, companies could stumble into or alongside such practices without meaning to. If you have been accused of deceptive practices in a lawsuit, it’s important to seek legal assistance quickly to protect your brand.
Source: Colorado State Government, “Colorado Consumer Protection Act,” accessed April 15, 2016
