OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau has resolved a pricing dispute with Suzy Shier Inc. over the company's use of sales tags. After an investigation the Bureau found that clothes in the store were being marked with both a regular price tag and a sales price tag, yet there was no indication that the clothes had ever been sold at the original price.

Under what is known as the Ordinary Selling Price provision of the Competition Act retailers are not allowed to promote something as a sale by misleading customers with over inflated original sales tags.

"The issue boils down to one question: When is a bargain really a bargain? The Bureau is committed to ensuring that consumers have accurate information regarding the 'regular price' of clothing so that they may determine the true value of their savings when deciding to purchase items 'on sale'," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner of Competition. "We will continue to examine the retail sector in order to prevent the use of fictitious 'regular prices' as a deceptive sales ploy."

Pierce further added that Suzy Shier co-operated fully with the Bureau.

After filing a Consent Agreement with the Competition Tribunal Suzy Shier Inc. must follow these regulation for the next 10 years:

• regular priced items will not appear misleading
• a corporate compliance policy will be developed and implemented to make sure that Ordinary Selling Price standards are upheld
• corrective notices will run in papers across the country
• pay fines totalling $1,000,000

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