MARKS & Spencer was landed with a £5,750 bill after being found guilty of using misleading price information at its York discount outlet.

The case centred on a confusing price tag, which led customers to believe they were receiving a discount of nearly 50 per cent, rather than about 25 per cent.

Trading standards officials took the company to court after a customer at the McArthur Glen outlet complained about price tags on a women's pyjama set.

Marks & Spencer was fined £750 and ordered to pay £5,000 towards prosecution costs after being convicted under the Consumer Protection Act.

District Judge Roger Elsey, sitting at Pickering Magistrates Court, ruled the company had breached the legislation by displaying a ticket which showed a markdown from £19 to £10.

He said: "If price comparisons are provided they must not be misleading. The consumer must be able to make an informed assessment of the nature of the bargain they are getting."

Underneath the ticket was an earlier barcode tag, which showed the garment had originally been priced at £13.

Marks & Spencer was cleared of using misleading prices on a baby-grow set, which was marked down from £12 to £8, on the grounds that the item was sold at the higher price for at least 28 days in the previous six months.

The company was also acquitted of a third charge regarding a sweater, which was marked as reduced from £32 to £19.

Nicholas Haggan QC, representing Marks & Spencer, said that since the charges were laid in January 2004 the company had completely revised its pricing procedures.

After the hearing, Matt Boxall, principal trading standards officer at City of York Council, warned they would take action against firms "who do not take reasonable steps to prevent their prices from being misleading".

A Marks & Spencer spokeswoman said: "We are happy that the court decided that in two out of the three cases the company had not been misleading.

"We apologise to customers regarding the third charge, but this did happen nearly two years ago and the pricing process has been changed across all our outlets since then."

Updated: 11:01 Friday, August 05, 2005