In a perfect world, retailers would be able to quietly go about their business without having to worry about legal problems. After all, selling things that people need should be a straightforward, uncontroversial endeavor. Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect world, and small business owners often find themselves in need of a lawyer. If you run a retail store, here are four legal problems you could find yourself facing.
Lawsuits After a Customer Takes a Fall
No matter how clean you try to keep your premises, there’s still a chance that a spill could go unnoticed. If the floor is left slippery, a customer could slip and fall. When this happens, a harmful lawsuit is extremely likely. A savvy victim will respond to their accident by contacting a law firm like The Law Offices of Julian Lewis Sanders & Associates, LLC. When this happens, you could find yourself paying a significant settlement, especially if you don’t have protection from liability.
Lawsuits After a Customer Cuts Themselves in Your Store
You need to make sure your store has as few sharp surfaces as possible. A misplaced boxcutter or a metal rack with a jagged edge could leave your customers vulnerable to injury. Once someone suffers an accident in your store, they’ll be quick to seek legal counsel and hold your business accountable.
Illegal Subscription Practices
Lots of businesses lure customers in by offering them a subscription that begins with a free trial. This might seem like a good deal for everybody involved, but it’s also a system that’s easily abused. Many online businesses make it difficult to unsubscribe from their services, leaving customers to pay a bill they were never expecting. Several states have responded by imposing restrictions on these types of promotions. If you’re not careful, you could fall foul of these laws with a well-intentioned offer of your own.
Inflated Reference Prices
In recent years, states have been coming down hard on companies that use inflated reference prices to trick customers into a purchase. If you’re in the habit of advertising sales prices that don’t really exist in practice, you could find yourself the victim of a class-action lawsuit. Defending yourself in such a case will prove expensive even if you win
No matter how well-intentioned you are as a business owner, you could still find yourself in legal jeopardy. These are four of the most common problems to look out for.