High street chain with over 500 shops ‘breaking law with misleading prices', Which? warns
Which? accused the High Street giant of using 'dodgy' Recommended Retail Prices (RRPs) to make discounts seem better than they really are to boost sales.
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The chain could be breaking the law, says Which? and has reported the business to regulators.
An item's RRP should reflect the price at which shops usually sell a product for, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.
This is so customers can easily work out how much of a saving they are making when buying at a knockdown price.
Investigators at the consumer rights group checked the pricing of 160 popular products on SportsDirect.com.
And said it was unable to find 58 of the 160 products on sale anywhere for Sports Direct's claimed RRP – or Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) - raising questions over whether those prices were genuine.
The items included a green Jack Wills Hunston graphic logo hoodie on sale with Sports Direct for £24 with an MSRP of £54.99.
Researchers could only find it on sale for £40 on Amazon and for £24 elsewhere, with no-one apparently selling it for £54.99.
And a pair of Slazenger men's drive tennis shoes were being sold by SportsDirect for £32.99, nearly half the MSRP of £64.99.
Which? found the trainers for sale on eight other websites – all run by SportsDirect's parent company - for either £32.99 or £33.
Only one retailer, Slazenger itself, sold them at the RRP but that price is supposed to represent what retailers generally sell a product for.
Ex-Sports Direct employee reveals high street stores secrets
At the same time, a Whitaker Somerford long sleeve baselayer was on sale for £8 with an RRP of £35.
Which? could only find it listed elsewhere for £18 –a long way short of the supposed RRP.
The consumer champion reckons Sports Direct's use of RRPs and MSRPs could be 'misleading actions' under a 2008 Unfair Trading law to protect shoppers.
It has presented its findings to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Which? legal expert Lisa Webb said: 'If Sports Direct is misleading customers by inappropriate use of RRPs to dupe them into thinking they are getting a good deal, then the competition regulator needs to step in and take strong action to stop this from happening.
'In the meantime, shoppers should take any big discounts at SportsDirect.com with a pinch of salt and make sure they compare prices with other retailers before parting with any hard earned cash.'
This is not the first time the chain has been accused of using misleading RRPs.
In 2015 Channel 4's Dispatches said the firm was hiking RRPs to lead customers into believing they were getting a bargain.
Sports Direct's owner, Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, has a large portfolio of brands under its umbrella including Jack Wills, Slazenger, Everlast and Lonsdale. Frasers Group also owns various retailers such as USC, Studio, and Get the Label, which sometimes appear to be the only sellers of these particular brands, Which? added.
Sports Direct was founded by Mike Ashley, 60 – now the UK's 52 nd richest man with a £3.12bn fortune – when he opened his first sports shop in Maidenhead in 1982 aged just 18.
The firm has been contacted for comment.
A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) spokesperson said: 'We'll carefully consider the findings from Which?'s research.
"All businesses need to ensure that they comply with consumer law, which includes not misleading their customers over pricing.'
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