A DISCOUNT fashion chain has vowed to fight court proceedings brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) following claims it used misleading advertisements.
The Officers Club, which is based in Sunderland, and its director, David Charlton, have been accused by the OFT of giving shoppers the false impression that sale prices were reductions from previous prices.
The accusation surrounds advertising in the stores detailing discounts, the OFT said, in particular the consistent use of "70 per cent off" advertisements.
The OFT said: "The OFT believes that what are claimed to be reduced prices are the company's normal selling price and that the alleged higher prices have been devised solely to give the appearance of a reduction."
A claim for an injunction has been issued in the High Court under the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.
But the company hit back yesterday, saying: "The Officers Club does not agree that its advertising is misleading and is actively defending proceedings brought by the OFT."
The Officers Club Limited employs 2,000 staff across 187 stores nationwide.
It has an annual turnover of £100m.
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