The law of misleading or deceptive conduct is the legal principle which prohibits businesses from engaging in actions or any statements which are likely to mislead or deceive consumers about any of their services or their products.
This is true even if the intent to deceive or mislead the consumers is not present.
It essentially means that a business cannot make any false claims or exaggerate any benefits or withhold any important information which can influence a consumer's decision to make a purchase.
The law of misleading or deceptive conduct goes beyond any outright lies and can also encompass practices such as ambiguous language, small print disclaimers or bait and switch tactics or even silence when crucial information isn't disclosed.
A business can be found guilty of misleading or deceptive conduct even if they didn't intentionally try to deceive their consumers.
The legal term for deceptive is deceit or deception.
Deception in law is a civil wrong that can lead to criminal charges.
Deceit is the deliberate act of misleading someone by making false statements or concealing facts.
Deception is the act of intentionally causing someone to believe something which is not true.
Examples of deceit and deception are theft by deception, identity theft, forgery, perjury and fraud.
Civil consequences include the right to sue the deceiver.
And criminal consequences include jail time, monetary fines, restitution or even community service.
Other terms for deception are subterfuge and double dealing.
The legal term for misleading information is misrepresentation, deception, or fraudulent misrepresentation.
Misrepresentation is a false statement or omission that is intended to deceive.
It can also be conduct that leads someone to believe something that is material to understanding a situation.
Deception is the act of misleading someone through false statements or fraudulent actions.
Fraudulent misrepresentation is a tort claim that occurs when someone intentionally misrepresents facts or opinions to get someone to act or not act. It's often a contract law issue.
Misrepresentation is an element of common law fraud, as well as other types of fraud, such as securities fraud.