Bed retailer Snooze has offered customers a $50 gift voucher for customers who may have been deceived by a 2008 ad campaign, at the behest of the ACCC.

Snooze’s October 2008 catalog had two prices listed in the form of ‘was/now,’ the ACCC said. But after an investigation, the ACCC found that many of the around 70 Snooze outlets were selling the wares for cheaper than the advertised ‘was’ price.

Snooze has admitted that the ‘was’ price listed was its own internal RRP, rather than the actual prices of products sold for a reasonable period before the campaign.

“Two-price advertising can make a sale price seem more attractive to consumers, but where the ‘was’ price is false or inflated, customers can be misled,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.

“Such advertising places businesses at serious risk of breaking the law.”

Snooze will also offer affected customers an apology, and display corrective notices in its stores.