False Advertising

What Is False Advertising?

False advertising occurs when a company or organization makes misleading, deceptive, or untrue statements about its products, services, business practices, or fundraising activities. Consumer protection laws are designed to ensure that individuals receive accurate information when making purchasing or donation decisions.

Keller Grover represents individuals in matters involving false advertising, deceptive business practices, and consumer fraud. Our work focuses on holding companies and charities accountable when marketing materials, advertising campaigns, product representations, or business practices may mislead consumers.

False advertising can include:

• Misleading marketing claims — Representations or omissions likely to deceive a reasonable consumer. For example, a juice brand labels its product “100% Juice” when it actually contains only 30% juice.
• Bait and switch practices — Bait and switch is a deceptive form of false advertising where a business entices a consumer with an attractive offer — such as a low price — with no intention of actually selling the item at that price.
• Never-ending sales — A never-ending sale is where a business offers a product as being on “sale” or “discounted” for months or years at a time. For example, if a store marks a shirt as “$50 — Now $25” but has sold that shirt for $25 for the past six months, the $50 price is considered fictitious pricing.
• Deceptive pricing or hidden fees — These are often called “junk fees” and are where a business advertises a low price to attract customers, only to incrementally add fees during the check-out process.
• Deceptive labeling of ingredients — Deceptive labeling refers to any practice where a food product's packaging or marketing misleads the consumer about the product's ingredients, nutritional value, health benefits, or origin.
• Omitting important information from advertisements — One example would be where a breakfast cereal states it is “high in fiber” but leaves out the fact the product is also unusually high in total fat. Another example would be where a cookie product advertises a flavor like strawberry with images of fresh strawberries, but the primary flavor actually comes from synthetic flavoring agents.
• Misrepresenting how products, services, or donations are used — For example, a charity advertising that all donations go to children when the donations are actually spent almost entirely on promoting the charity's religious goals.
• Unsupported claims regarding quality, effectiveness, or impact — Often seen in the nutrition space where products make a statement about what the product will do to the human body without any reliable scientific evidence to prove it.

Consumers rely on honest advertising to make informed decisions. When organizations fail to provide truthful or transparent information, consumers may suffer financial harm or be misled about where their money is going.

Keller Grover represents consumers in matters involving false advertising, deceptive business practices, and consumer protection violations. The firm investigates claims involving companies and organizations whose advertising or marketing practices may violate consumer protection laws.

Keller Grover is committed to protecting consumers and promoting transparency in the marketplace through class action and representative actions.

Report Potential False Advertising

Keller Grover investigates matters involving consumer protection, false advertising, and nonprofit accountability nationwide. If you believe you were misled by advertising or marketing practices — or are aware of a company engaging in deceptive consumer practices — we encourage you to contact Keller Grover.

If you would like to discuss a potential matter or share information regarding deceptive charitable advertising practices, please contact Keller Grover for a confidential discussion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recent Cases — Kars4Kids Class Action Investigation

Keller Grover is currently pursuing a class action investigation seeking restitution for donors allegedly deceived by Kars4Kids' advertising.

The investigation concerns whether donors may have been misled regarding aspects of the organization's advertising, charitable activities, or use of donated funds. Keller Grover's focus is on ensuring consumers and donors receive accurate and transparent information when making charitable contributions.

“This case is all about transparency. A donor is doing the charity a favor, not the other way around. If a charity like Kars4Kids is going to take donations, it owes it to donors to be upfront about how the money raised is being spent.”
— Eric Grover, Keller Grover Attorney

Individuals who donated to Kars4Kids may wish to read the full case announcement to learn more about the ongoing matter and their potential rights.

Learn more about the Kars4Kids class action, including why a class action matters and the RICO claim.

Related Coverage

• “You can’t not know the jingle”: 1-877-Kars-4-Kids in another legal fight (NJ.com)
• Kars4Kids false advertising class action (Keller Grover)
• Eric Grover quoted by NJ.com on the Kars4Kids case (Instagram)
• The Kars4Kids consumer case, explained (Instagram)
• What a RICO claim means, explained (Instagram)
• Kars4Kids, explained (Instagram)