1. Angela buys an airline ticket at an online discount site and prints out the information. After she has completed the sale, she receives an email saying that she has to pay an extra $25 to have a seat on the plane, an extra $40 for a usage fee, and a $30 luggage fee if she wants to take a carry on. She looks back at the original information she printed and sees no notice of any of these fees.

a. What, if any, deceptive practice did this employee/agent use?

b. If a deceptive practice was used, would the liability belong to the company, the employee/agent, or both (shared liability)? What, if any, consequences would this situation possibly cause for the company?

2. Joaquin works for a telemarketer where he processes customer's online payments. He discovered that, without being caught, he can use customer credit card numbers to buy things online. To decrease his chances of being caught, he uses each credit card number only once. Also, he writes the numbers down so he can use them at home where he has more privacy.

a. What, if any, deceptive practice did Joaquin use?

b. If a deceptive practice was used, would the liability belong to the company, the employee/agent, or both (shared liability)? What, if any, consequences would this situation possibly cause for the company?

3. A company, LocalWater, sells bottled water that it claims comes from springs in the local area. LocalWater does not own the rights to any springs, so the company pays hefty prices for access to the water. Gary, the bottling manager, has been having trouble staying within his budget, so he instructs employees to fill bottles from the tap every Thursday and Friday until further notice. This practice allows Gary to only have 3/5 of the spring water bills he usually has. A disgruntled employee goes to the newspaper with an expos saying that once or twice a week, LocalWater fills the bottles out of the tap.

a. What, if any, deceptive practice did Gary use?

b. If a deceptive practice was used, would the liability belong to the company, the employee/agent, or both (shared liability)? What, if any, consequences would this situation possibly cause for the company?

4. Emily owns a massage parlor. She has five masseuses who are all to use the same base fees, which are $50 for one hour and $30 for a half hour. Emily advertises these fees in several local situations as the "lowest massage fees in the area." Hank is one of the masseuses. Once Hank has a potential customer, he explains that 60 minutes massages include dressing and undressing time so the actual massage is only 45 minutes. This process allows him to work in five clients per four hours instead of only four. In a day, he can see 10 clients instead of only eight.

a. What, if any, deceptive practice did Hank use?

b. If a deceptive practice was used, would the liability belong to the company, the employee/agent, or both (shared liability)? What, if any, consequences would this situation possibly cause for the company?

5. Jose drives a freezer truck and sells PrimeTable frozen foods to customers in their homes. He has a strong customer base, but people regularly move or stop buying, so he is always trying to get more customers. He knows that, once he can get new customers to try his products, they almost always like them and want to buy more. Because it is hard for him to convince new customers to buy the first time, he has become a little pushy. In fact, when a potential new customer tries to shut the door on him, he often sticks his foot in the door to keep it open while he continues to talk.

a. What, if any, deceptive practice did Jose use?

b. If a deceptive practice was used, would the liability belong to the company, the employee/agent, or both (shared liability)? What, if any, consequences would this situation possibly cause for the company?