The California Consumers Legal Remedies Act(CLRA)
No matter what industry you’re in, attracting customers is more difficult than ever, especially when facing competitors in your market. It can become aggressive, as some businesses will do anything they can to get ahead. These aggressive strategies may even be considered unfair practices, violating the rights of the consumer. Such practices are not tolerated under the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA).
The CLRA falls under the California Civil Code. It defines unfair business practices in order to protect the rights of the consumer. Many of these practices are an attempt to mislead customers with false advertisement, or promoting a product in such a way that misrepresents how it is actually sold. This can include intentionally promoting a used product as new, or falsely stating product affiliations, endorsements, or where it was sourced. It is also prohibited to falsely disparage the goods and services of another business. These are just a few examples of the violations listed by the CLRA.
Because the CLRA is part of the civil code, violations can result in a lawsuit brought forth against the violating party in order to seek reparation. This can include punitive damages or restitution of lost property and profits. Due to a statute of limitations, a lawsuit must be filed within three years of the unfair business practice in question. The CLRA umbrella also covers consumer frauds such as cell phone and telecom fraud. To avoid misleading telephone solicitations, the person receiving the call must be greeted with a voice informing them of the business and obtaining their consent to continue with the solicitation. This type of fraud only pertains to unprompted communications and does not include existing relationships between the business and consumer.
