Australian energy supplier and newest sponsor of Cricket Australia, Alinta Energy, has been called out by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for misleading advertising.
The government watchdog said the company's advertising, between 9 December 2017 and 28 February 2018, misled customers by comparing increases in its competitors’ standing or undiscounted tariff rates, to decreases in Alinta’s discounted tariff rates.
The watchdog deemed this misleading as it gave a false impression of Alinta’s electricity price reduction, which for standing tariff rates was 1.8%, not 2.8% as advertised.
The campaign in question has been removed entirely. At the time of the campaign, Alinta was not a sponsor of Cricket Australia.
“Alinta’s conduct prevented customers from making informed choices about which electricity retailer best suited their needs. Businesses must not mislead consumers in advertisements comparing their prices or services to those offered by competitors,” ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard said.
“Following ACCC action, Alinta will contact all affected Victorian customers to advise that they will honour the advertised price reduction for customers who wish to continue with their plan."
Alinta will now honour the 2.8% tariff price reduction crediting customers, backdated from 12 January 2018 until 11 July 2018, and also through adjusted rates which will apply from 12 July 2018, for the next six months.
Alinta Energy's executive director of retail markets Jim Galvin told AdNews the company had proactively worked with the ACCC to address concerns.
“We apologise to those customers who were affected. We remain absolutely committed to making energy more affordable for you, and recognise our communication should have been clearer and error-free,” Galvin says.
Alinta has also implemented a review of its advertising processes and conducted refresher training in the Australian Consumer Law for relevant staff.
Earlier this year, Alinta became the new national team shirt sponsor for Cricket Australia, only two months after former sponsor Qantas opted not to renew its deal.
A Cricket Australia spokesperson told AdNews at the time, the new four-year deal will see the Western Australian energy supplier take over shirt sponsorship for all three international codes - test cricket, one-day internationals and Twenty20.
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