OXNARD : Furniture Store Pays Penalties Over Ads

An Oxnard furniture store agreed Tuesday to pay $95,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations by Ventura County prosecutors that it misled customers about potential savings on merchandise.

Wickes Furniture Co. ran advertisements that inflated the non-sale price of furniture so it would appear customers were getting a better deal during sales, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz.

The store also advertised “free” airline tickets without disclosing that customers would have to pay a fee for the tickets and stay at specified hotels, Schwartz said.

Wickes agreed to settle the case without admitting guilt, said Wickes attorney Michael Magasin.

“The culpability level (of Wickes) is very minimal,” he said. “It was addressed as quickly as possible and there were no recurring problems.”

The advertisements in question appeared in newspapers, on flyers and on signs at the Ventura Boulevard store from April to October, 1992, Schwartz said. A Ventura competitor tipped prosecutors about the alleged misleading practices, he said.

In one case, the company advertised a dresser with a sale price of $699. The ad said “compare at $1,399,” but company officials were unable to prove that the dresser had ever been sold at the higher price by Wickes or its competitors, Schwartz said.

Another ad promised free airline tickets for two to Florida, the Bahamas or Hawaii with any $399.98 purchase, Schwartz said. What it did not say is that customers were required to pay a $35 fee to a travel company or that the users had to stay at certain hotels at specified rates, he said.

“By the time they were done paying the inflated rates, it wasn’t such a bargain,” Schwartz said.

Wickes Furniture Showrooms in Oxnard is part of a chain with 25 stores across the nation. The Oxnard store is its only Ventura County location.