Macy’s parent company settled a deceptive marketing lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney yesterday. The defendant, Federated Departments Stores, Inc, also operates department store chains like Kaufmann
s, Macy
s, and Filene
s.

A few months ago, a consumer complaint launched an investigation by Eliot Spitzer (pictured) of Kaufman’s, which was found guilty of engaging in various deceptive marketing and advertising tactics.

For example, Kaufman’s conducted a near constant sale of a high-end coffee maker from September 29, 2005 through December 31, 2005. During this time, the store offered the Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System at a sale price of $169.99, discounted from its regular price of $219.99, for 74 out of 94 days. However, the MSRP is is in fact $169.99, and could be widely found in other stores for that price.

“This is the second agreement that Kaufmann
s has entered into with the Attorney General
s Office. In the first, which was signed in January 2005, Kaufmann
s agreed to stop promoting fake sales. As revealed by the Attorney General
s more recent investigation, however, Kaufmann
s failed to do so,” reported the press release.

More shenanigan details in the press release.

New Yorkers wanting to file a complaint about false advertising can call the Attorney General
s consumer help line at (800) 771-7755.

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