Fujitsu's web shop showed 'WEB prices' nobody had paid and deadlines that never bit

Fujitsu Client Computing, the maker of FMV LIFEBOOK laptops, sells direct through the Fujitsu WEB MART store. Between 4 October 2022 and 8 February 2023, seven LIFEBOOK models were displayed with a 'WEB Price' struck through next to a lower 'Campaign Price' — for example 'WEB Price ¥187,880, Campaign Price ¥148,425, 21% OFF'. The same pages carried deadlines like '21% OFF (until 10/5 14:00)' and bulk-buy campaigns with closing dates.

Both numbers were hollow. The 'WEB Price' had no sales record on the site — nobody had ever paid the anchor — and when campaign deadlines passed, the laptops simply stayed at the campaign price. The Consumer Affairs Agency ruled the dual pricing and the urgency displays misleading: shoppers were told they were saving against a real standard price and that waiting would cost them the deal.

On 2 August 2024 the CAA ordered a surcharge of ¥42,230,000 — 3% of ¥1,408,691,286 in sales across the seven models — payable by 3 March 2025. The order noted the company had not exercised sufficient management and supervision to prevent misrepresentation. Fujitsu had already published an apology and recurrence measures in June 2023.

The CAA charged 3% of ¥1.41B in sales because the anchor price had no sales record and deadlines never bit, making the discounts and urgency misleading.

The 'WEB Price' anchor had no sales record — the 21% OFF was measured against a price nobody had paid.

Campaign deadlines ('until 10/5 14:00') expired with the same prices still available — the urgency was manufactured.

The CAA faulted the company's management and supervision of its displays, not just the displays themselves.

Direct stores are not exempt from the rules: Fujitsu WEB MART priced seven LIFEBOOK laptops against a 'WEB Price' that never sold, and Japan charged 3% of ¥1.41B in sales.

The surcharge order of 2 August 2024 required payment of ¥42,230,000 by 3 March 2025. Fujitsu Client Computing had published an apology and recurrence-prevention measures on 23 June 2023, before the surcharge followed.