The Federal Court today found that Coles Supermarkets made false or misleading representations about its well known Down Down advertising of discounts.
Proceedings brought by competition watchdog the ACCC related to 245 common products sold by Coles.
The ACCC alleged that Coles temporarily increased the price of each product by at least 15% for a relatively short period of time, before placing it on a Down Down promotion at a price that was still higher than, or the same as, the price it had previously sold for before the price increase.
The watchdog alleged that the discounts were illusory and that the representations were false or misleading, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
Justice Michael O’Bryan found that 13 of the 14 Down Down tickets that were the subject of consideration in the hering were misleading.
The hearing involved an agreed list of sample products from the total of 245.
“We welcome the Court’s finding that Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law,” ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
“The ACCC brought this case in the public interest because we considered that Coles’ pricing practices within its Down Down program made it harder for customers to identify genuine value for money while shopping for household essentials.”
“We had received complaints by consumers about the Down Down discounting claims made by Coles.
“We understand how important it is for consumers to get value for their supermarket purchases, and decided to take action to test the discounting practices in Court.”
The court will determine penalties and other orders sought by the ACCC at a later date.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.