If Devin wins the case, Zara’s USA customers may be entitled to a settlement.
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The lawsuit explained how Zara allegedly engaged in “bait-and-switch pricing”, which involved Zara only marking its products with euro prices.
Fast fashion has transformed apparel retail in the past decade or so, deftly copying design trends and swiftly getting clothing onto racks at prices well below its competitors. But when Rose reached the register, he was charged $17.90 for each shirt. At the time he bought his clothing, the lawsuit stated, “The actual euro-dollar exchange rate would have resulted in his €9.95 shirts costing approximately $11.26 each”.
If Rose’s proposed class action lawsuit is certified by the court, individuals who were allegedly duped by Zara in the US around the time Rose made his purchases can join the case and share in the settlement amount. As the cashier was telling him the $17.90 was due to the exchange rate, “another customer called in to the store to inquire about the very same kind of price issue”.
Mark Geragos, a well-known local lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, told ABC7 that he estimates Zara has been overcharging customers $12-15 per item, which when added up, could tally up to over $1 billion. Refusing to give up, he pressed the question, and “was told that the store used a device to calculate the conversion rate applicable to each item, but that this device had been lost”.
A USA consumer has filed a lawsuit against Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara’s American unit over deceptive pricing practices, according to law and business publication The Fashion Law.
“The conversion rate is entirely misapplied-to the extent it is even applied at all-such that US consumers are paying far more than the true prices of the products”, it says. “In the aggregate, the shopping experience of ordinary customers like Mr”.
The case hinges on the fact that Zara lists their prices in Euros, which Devin believes is a tactic to lure US customers in with a lower number. Alternatively, the company pastes price stickers in dollars over the original euros price tag, with the dollar price “far in excess of the true converted amount if the euro price printed on the tag were properly converted”, the complaint states.
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Instead, Rose overpaid for the items, and now alleges negligence, negligence per se, unfair business practices, unjust enrichment and fraud. “While we have not yet been served the complaint containing these baseless claims, we pride ourselves in our fundamental commitment to transparency and honest, ethical conduct with our valued customers”, according to a statement from the company to The Fashion Law.
