Deceptive Business Practices
Consumer Protection Law — the listed practices, and up to three times the damages
In Pennsylvania, unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce, as the law defines them, are unlawful. The definition is a list, and it ends with a catchall: any other fraudulent or deceptive conduct that creates a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding.
- Passing off goods or services as someone else's, or causing confusion about who sponsors or approves them.
- Representing goods as new if they are used, reconditioned or secondhand.
- Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised.
- False or misleading statements about the reasons for or amounts of price reductions.
- Failing to comply with a written guarantee or warranty.
- Knowingly saying repairs are needed when they are not, and making repairs below the standard agreed to in writing.
Actual damages or $100, and the court may treble them. A person who bought or leased goods or services mainly for personal, family or household purposes and lost money or property as a result may sue for actual damages or $100, whichever is greater. The court may award up to three times actual damages, but not less than $100, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Sources for this section (3)
- Consumer Protection Law 9.2 — Private actions
- Consumer Protection Law 2 — Definitions
- Consumer Protection Law 3 — Unlawful acts or practices; exclusions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.