Stores fails to display Valentine’s card prices

PRICES of greeting cards were not displayed in a quarter of stores in the run-up to St Valentine’s Day, a survey revealed.

Inspectors from the Office of Consumer Affairs said that out of 123 premises visited in recent weeks, 25% of the outlets did not have the prices for cards on show.

In excess of 1,000 cards were checked.

Consumer Affairs decided to target the greeting card sector when it became aware that a significant number of retailers were not displaying card prices.

Prices should be shown to comply with legislation. Most cards are priced by reference to a code number with a chart adjacent to card stands indicating the prices that equate to each code.

Excuses from retailers included not realising the list was missing, not thinking about it as cards are just scanned at the checkout or being unaware of legal requirement.

Director of Consumer Affairs Carmel Foley said: “Sales of greeting cards have grown enormously in recent years.

“Prices have also increased and they must be shown either on the cards or identified in adjacent charts.”

Re-visits to the stores later showed that non-displays had dropped to just 5%.