HP Settles PC And Keyboard False Advertising Suit For A Slap On The Wrist
When is a sale price not really a sale price? That's the $4 million dollar question that HP doesn't have to answer, but it did agree to pay that amount to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the firm of "false advertising" and "misleading" customers on its website (entirely separate from any printer-related lawsuits). The settlement amount is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of dollars HP generates each quarter, and it also emerges from the lawsuit without having to admit any wrongdoing.
The original complaint dates back to October 13, 2021 and has to do with the way HP presented pricing for PCs and peripherals on its website. An amended complaint filed on July 15, 2022 doubled down on the claims while further alleging that HP's practices violated the Federal Trade Commission's rules prohibiting deceptive pricing, and specifically the bit about using an "artificial, inflated price" to make an advertised discount appear more substantial than it really is.
"To sell more products and maximize its profits, HP
displays misleading strikethrough prices on its website and advertises fictitious savings based on
those prices. The strikethrough prices are misleading because they do not represent the actual
prices at which HP regularly sells its products. The savings are fictitious because they do not
represent the actual savings obtained by customers," the amended lawsuit (PDF) states, as spotted by Arstechnica.
A specific example outlined in the lawsuit points to an all-in-one PC (model 24-dp1056qe) that HP advertised as being on sale for $899.99 on September 7, 2021, for which the plaintiff, Rodney Carvalho, ended up purchasing. According to the lawsuit, HP mislead customers by claiming they could "save $100 instantly" on the system's regular price.
That would be fine, except the lawsuit alleges that price "rarely, if ever" sold for $999.99 in the weeks and months prior to Carvalho's purchase.
"By using misleading strikethrough prices to artificially increase the perceived value
of HP products, HP harms consumers by inducing them to pay more for its products and make
purchases they would not have otherwise made.
HP’s strikethrough prices also harm competition by giving HP an unfair advantage
over other computer manufacturers that do not engage in false reference pricing," the lawsuit alleges. "After all, a
customer is more likely to purchase a $2,000 computer advertised at 50% off its regular price than
pay full price for a $1,000 computer."
The lawsuit also rakes HP over the coals for weekly deals that would sometimes read, "Only 1 Left!," as was allegedly the case with Carvalho's all-in-one PC. According to the suit, HP continued to sell Carvalho's PC in subsequent weeks and months despite the supposed limited quantity.
Additionally, the amended lawsuit (PDF) as spotted by Arstechnica alleges HP falsely advertised time-sensitive deals, sometimes with a countdown clock, but that the flash sales and other limited time offers were actually "falsehoods."
While HP admits no wrongdoing, the settlement (PDF) has been agreed to, in which HP will pay out $4 million. HP's revenue for the first quarter of 2025 came to $13.5 billion. To see if you're affected, Ars posted a handy sheet (PDF) of every PC and peripheral model that's part of the lawsuit, which comprises HP's Envy, Pavilion, Spectre, and Victus lines, along with Chromebooks and other categories as well.
