Melbourne retailer House slammed for ‘misleading’ sale sign

A popular Aussie homewares shop has been slammed for a “misleading” detail in its sale sign. Can you spot the issue?

House has come under fire for this “misleading” sale sign. Picture: Facebook

A popular Aussie homewares retailer has been slammed over a “misleading” detail in its sale sign — and it takes eagle eyes to spot the issue.

Australian kitchen and homewares shop House came under fire this week after sharing an “80 per cent off” sale with its customers.

Posting to a popular Facebook page, one shopper took issue with the sale.

The shopper shared an image of a handwritten sign spotted at the entrance of House in Southland, Melbourne.

The large notice, which was posted directly below the store sign, reads “80% off storewide” in bold, capital letters.

But a few tiny, barely detectable words completed the message.

The words “up to” and “RRP” were written in minuscule writing that was barely visible from the ground, meaning the whole sign reads: “up to 80% off RRP storewide”.

In their post, the customer noted the additional words could only be read by zooming in on the image and said they hadn’t even realised their mistake until they were at the checkout.

“I thought this sale was fantastic until I got to the register to pay,” the shopper wrote on the Markdown Addicts Australia page.

“I personally think it crosses the line of being misleading when the fine print is so small you can barely see it when walking into the store (zoom in on the picture).”

A few tiny words make up the rest of the sign. Picture: Facebook

It actually reads: “Up to 80% off RRP storewide”. Picture: Facebook

Other bargain hunters in the group expressed disappointment in the sign, and some even said they’d been duped themselves.

“Very misleading, that’s absolutely not right,” one person wrote.

“Poor staff imagine working there, copping the abuse,” added another.

A third wrote: “Is that a minuscule ‘up to’? I’m sure Fair Trading wouldn’t consider that to be fair.”

One shopper said they had been “caught at the same store”, vowing: “I’ll not shop there again!”

A House spokesperson said the sign was amended after the issue was raised with store staff.

“The House store at Southland is presently undergoing a major sale in anticipation of a temporary closure for store refreshment and restocking,” the spokesperson said in a statement to 7 News.

“The sales that House undertakes before these closures involve its greatest level of discounting, and product is currently discounted in store at up to 80 per cent.

The sign has since been amended. Picture: House

“Yesterday, it came to our attention that the signage at our Southland store did not clearly state that the discounts were up to 80 per cent.

“As soon as this came to our attention, the sign was immediately corrected.

“At all times, the extent of the discount was clearly identified on the product within the store.

“House remains committed to providing its customers with the best quality product at lowest possible prices.”

An updated image of the sign featured the words “up to” and “RRP” in much larger lettering — though it was still smaller than the main text.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ASIC) has strict guidelines with regard to fine print.

“Information in fine print and qualifications must not conflict with the overall message of the advertisement,” the watchdog states on its website.

Consumer Affairs Victoria also advises that “a business cannot rely on disclaimers buried in small print as an excuse for misleading or deceptive conduct.”

Originally published as Melbourne retailer House slammed for ‘misleading’ sale sign