Chiu Ting Construction Co., Ltd.'s false advertising in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Chiu Ting Construction Co., Ltd.'s false advertising in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Key Words:
indoor loft in violation of code, penalty
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of March 17, 1999 (382nd Commissioners' Meeting); Disposition (88) Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 027
Industry:
Housing Construction Engineering Industry (4601)
Relevant Law:
Summary:
Based on a complaint submitted by a member of the public, Chiu Ting Construction Co.'s pre-sale house sales advertisements for "Chi P'in" (Chiu Ting's construction project) stated "'4.9 meter dual-effect space...an extra staircase and a flat residence immediately becomes a large 3D villa, increased interior room without increased price" and included a drawing of a loft, leading the public to buy in error. Only after purchase did buyers discover that the loft was in violation of the building code and may be dismantled and removed.
The result of the investigation shows that Chiu Ting Construction Co. did indeed in its "Chi P'in" pre-sale house sales ads use the above words and drawing to attract consumers to purchase in the Chi P'in building. The buyers, after the builders had obtained a use permit or the home purchase was complete, in beginning the second stage of construction to install the illegal interior loft found they might face the following penalties for violating the building code: fines, orders to cease use, or compulsory dismantling and removal. Also, since in this case the building ratio had already been exhausted, a consumer, when applying for a building license for the loft, could not obtain the license as the total floor surface area would exceed the scope of the permitted building ratio. Chiu Ting Construction Co. clearly knew that it had not applied for the lofts in the building license, and concealed this important consumer interest-affecting information in its ads, causing consumers to believe mistakenly that the interior loft was legally usable space approved for construction and that they could buy a greater amount of p'ings for a lower price.
In summary, Chiu Ting Construction Co.'s acts violated Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law, and the 382nd Commission Meeting of the Fair Trade Commission decided Chiu Ting would be punished according to the provisions in the first part of Article 41 of the FTL and ordered Chiu Ting to cease immediately its acts of false representations regarding loft designs in its house sales ads.
Summarized by Sun Chia-shui
Supervised by Pai Yu-chuang
Appendix:
Chiu Ting Construction Co., Ltd.'s Uniform Invoice No.: 23638354