Q: A few days ago, I bought a dress from a local store that sells a leading European brand. This dress was advertised at a 50 per cent price reduction. The original price before the discount was €80, so I paid €40 for the dress.

Once home, I peeled off the price sticker and on the original label I found a different price, which was €60. This means that the local store put up the original price by €20. Is this an acceptable practice on goods imported from another EU country?

A: When local sellers import goods there is no law that dictates how much they should sell their products. In other words, there is no law that states how much sellers can earn on the products they sell.

However, having said that, sellers should not mislead consumers through unfair commercial practices. A misleading practice would be if the local retailer during sales has increased the original price to give the impression that the goods have been reduced from a higher price, when in actual fact such goods were never sold at that price.

If the shop in question actually did engage in this kind of practice and you have the proof, then you can file a complaint with the Office for Consumer Affairs so that necessary action is taken.

Even if such practice never occurred, that is, the dress was never sold at €80, it is still illegal to indicate a price which is not the retail price. Therefore, this store should not leave any labels with prices that are not retail prices.

You may therefore wish to contact the Office for Consumer Affairs and leave the details of this particular store so that necessary action may be taken.