Deceptive business practice
This law is about cheating people in business. A person breaks this law when they run a business and purposely or carelessly do dishonest things — like using a fake scale, selling less than what was promised, selling fake or mislabeled goods, lying in ads, or advertising a price or product they never plan to actually offer. This is a class A misdemeanor, which is a crime.
Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.
570.140. Deceptive business practice — . — 1. A person commits the of deceptive business practice if in the course of engaging in a business, or profession, he or she :
(1) Uses or possesses for use a false weight or measure, or any other device for falsely determining or recording any quality or quantity;
(2) Sells, offers, displays for sale, or less than the represented quantity of any or ;
(3) Takes or attempts to take more than the represented quantity of any commodity or service when as buyer he or she furnishes the weight or measure;
(4) Sells, offers, or exposes for sale or commodities;
(5) Makes a false or misleading written statement for the purpose of obtaining property or ;
(6) Promotes the sale of property or services by a false or misleading statement in any ; or
(7) Advertises in any manner the sale of property or services with the purpose not to sell or provide the property or services:
(a) At the price which he or she offered them;
(b) In a quantity sufficient to meet the reasonably expected public , unless the quantity is specifically stated in the advertisement; or
(c) At all.
2. The offense of deceptive business practice is a .
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Source & history notes
(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491) Effective 1-01-17
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.