Close proximity rule

Definition

A price limit must sit beside the price it limits, not in a footnote below the offer.

Why It Matters

The whole-house price is how this trade advertises and it is also how it gets sued. Ohio treats a material exclusion as deceptive unless it is clear, conspicuous and in close proximity to the words stating the offer, and says in as many words that an asterisk pointing at a footnote is not close proximity; a room-size upcharge has to disclose both its nature and its amount. The on-site half is the same rule turned around: a technician who disparages the advertised service or steers the customer onto something else has made the offer not bona fide. These are published rules, so a violation opens on treble damages. Read the seller's ad copy and its door script as a liability you are buying.