One of the greatest inventions in the realm of consumer entertainment is the High Definition Television. Once you have seen a football game or your favorite movie in high definition, it is hard to go back to regular TV. One of the best parts of the new, high definition TVs is that they are flat and can be very large. Old-style televisions were big and boxy, and their size was effectively limited by weight and bulk. Now, however, TVs are very thin, and even the biggest can hang on your wall without taking excess space. As a result, many consumers seek out and purchase quite large televisions.
Unfortunately, some manufacturers and retail outlets use misleading numbers to suggest that their televisions are actually bigger than they are. Instead of listing the actual diagonal measure of a screen, many manufacturers and retailers represent that their televisions are within a particular size “class.” Under FTC guidelines, that is acceptable, so long as the actual size is also listed alongside the class, and so long as the screen is one-half inch or less smaller than the class. Numerous manufacturers and retailers apparently violate this simple rule.
For example, the promotion for Sceptre TVs claims some models of its televisions are “40” inches, which a reasonable consumer would understand to mean it is a 40-inch screen. However, HD Guru reports that the actual screen size is 38.5 inches. Apparently, Walmart (a seller of Spectre televisions) also uses in-store advertisements that suggest the size is 40. While 1.5 inches may not seem like much to sacrifice, it actually amounts to almost 49 square inches lost. HD Guru also reports that HDTVs sold by Sears, Best Buy and HH Gregg exhibit similar misleading size claims.
If you or someone you know purchased a HD TV from Walmart, Sears, Best Buy or HH Gregg that is not as big as claimed, please contact us to discuss your legal options.