Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices

Every state in the country has one or more laws to provide consumers with certain basic protections against fraudulent, deceptive, and/or misleading conduct perpetrated by predators and unscrupulous businesses.

The Federal Trade Commission also enforces rules against unfair and deceptive practices at the federal level. The basic premise of these protections is to provide consumers with honest treatment in the marketplace, free from unfair and deceptive practices.

These laws generally address more than fraud in the traditional sense and deem unlawful a wide range of deceptive trade practices. Under these laws, “deceptive” is generally defined expansively to include both affirmative misrepresentations and the failure to fully disclose all material terms to consumers.

Claims brought under state Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices laws commonly overlap with claims brought under more specific consumer protection statutes, including many discussed elsewhere on this website.

Paul J. Lukas

Consumer Law Attorney
Learn More »

Whether a company’s conduct qualifies as an unfair or deceptive act must be determined by the circumstances. Further, whether the company and the conduct are covered by these laws also varies by state. If you have been treated unfairly, a Nichols Kaster consumer attorney may be able to help.