PetMeds Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly False Reference Prices, Fake Discounts

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PetMed Express faces a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the online pet pharmacy has advertised products online with false perpetual discounts that “lure” consumers with the promise of hefty bargains.

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The 19-page PetMeds lawsuit alleges that the retailer uses artificially inflated reference prices to give shoppers the false impression that they’re getting huge savings on merchandise sold on 1800PetMeds.com. In reality, the featured discounts are misrepresentations, as the company has never previously sold the items at the purported “regular” prices shown online, the suit contests.

According to the case, PetMeds lists products on its website with conspicuous “sale” prices or discount percentages featured next to the items’ crossed-out original prices. The company also advertises that certain discounts are available for that day only, the complaint adds.

In truth, the filing charges, the original “strikethrough” prices and corresponding savings are a “total fiction,” as PetMeds “offers discounts on all of its products, all of the time.”

Per the lawsuit, the retailer’s conduct violates federal pricing regulations, which specify that an item’s advertised original cost must be a price at which the seller sold the product on a regular basis for a reasonable amount of time.

The plaintiff, a Pennsylvania resident, says he has purchased multiple products from 1800PetMeds.com in recent years. Investigation by the man’s counsel showed that, for every item examined, PetMeds has never previously sold the product at the “regular” price displayed on the website, the suit relays.

The plaintiff also claims that although the merchandise he purchased was purportedly on sale for that day only, the advertised discount price did not change between subsequent visits to the website.

The lawsuit looks to represent any Pennsylvania residents who purchased products from 1800PetMeds.com.

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