display of prices in pubs, cafes, restaurants and
takeaways
The legislation governing the display of
prices of food and drink sold in pubs, cafes, restaurants and
takeaways has recently changed. Under the previous regulations
there were specific requirements on where the prices should be
displayed, how many prices were required and the manner in which
they must be indicated. Under the new legislation, (Consumer
Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 – CPRs) there are
no such specific requirements and a practice which would have been
a breach of the old regulations would not necessarily be so under
the new regulations.
The CPRs prohibits practices which are
misleading and which cause or are likely to cause the average
consumer to alter their purchasing decision. Practices may mislead
by failing to give consumers the information they need to make an
informed choice in buying a product or service. This occurs when
practices omit or hide material information, or provide it in an
unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner and, as a
result, the average consumer takes, or is likely to take, a
different decision.
The price of a product in most circumstances
is material information. Therefore, providing the price in a manner
which is unclear or failing to provide the price in a timely
fashion before a transactional decision is made may amount to a
misleading omission. For example, in restaurants, the prices of the
food and drink available will usually need to be given to consumers
before they order.
Recent LACORS advice recommends that, to avoid
misleading by omission and therefore possibly breaching the CPRs,
it is still best practice for all pubs, cafes, restaurants and
takeaways to provide readily available, written price information
to their customers.
