Bait and switch - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

A �bait and switch� takes place when a seller creates an appealing but ingenuine offer to sell a product or service, which the seller does not actually intend to sell. This initial advertised offer is �the bait.� Then the seller switches customers from buying the advertised product or service that the seller initially offered into buying a different product or service that is usually at a higher price or has some other advantageous effect to the advertiser. This is the �switch.� Normally, the switched product that the consumer buys is usually at a higher purchase price, an increased profit for the seller, or may have a less marketable characteristic than the product advertised.

A �bait and switch� is different from a "loss-leader" sale, which is when a seller specifically notifies the customer that only a limited number of units of a product are for sale at a discount. �Bait and switch� advertising is grounds for an action of common-law fraud, unjust enrichment, and sometimes breach of contract. A �bait and switch� is also a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

In Federal Claims courts, the key components for evaluating a claim of improper bait-and-switch� by the recipient of a contract are whether: (1) the seller represented in its initial proposal that they would rely on certain specified employees/staff when performing the services; (2) the recipient relied on this representation of information when evaluating the proposal; (3) it was foreseeable and probable that the employees/staff named in the initial proposal would not be available to implement the contract work; and (4) employees/staff other than those listed in the initial proposal instead were or would be performing the services.