Tyco Australia Pty Ltd, trading as ADT Security (ADT)
On 27 May 2005 Tyco Australia Pty Ltd, trading as ADT Security (ADT), provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC in respect of its alarm monitoring services and its former provision of mobile patrol call services.
Since August 2001 ADT has represented to most of its residential and small business customers that customers would receive Grade One or Grade A1 alarm monitoring services (the highest, most secure grade of alarm monitoring) when in fact the customers have not received Grade One/A1 monitoring as certified under the relevant Australian Standard: 2201.2-2001.
ADT has undertaken to:
write to all of its residential and small business customers who currently receive alarm monitoring services from ADT, offering an apology and compensation to each customer who contacts ADT (via a toll free customer enquiry line) with information that indicates that they were misled as to the grade of monitoring service they were to receive. The compensation options include an offer to be monitored solely from ADT’s certified Grade One/A1 monitoring facility, a free home safety kit or other appropriate compensation.
During the period 1999–2002 ADT falsely billed some of its mobile patrol call customers for scheduled patrol calls not provided to the customers, and did not subsequently refund these customers.
ADT has undertaken to:
write to all of the affected 339 former mobile patrol call customers (owed a total of $27 638), apologising for its failure to previously provide a refund for any missed patrols, and providing each customer with the applicable refund. The 339 former ADT customers are in Victoria, NSW, and Western Australia. ADT sold its mobile patrol call business in September 2002.
Ramsay Health Care Limited
On 24 May 2005 Ramsay signed a variation of undertaking which was accepted by the ACCC on 13 April 2005, as reported in ejournal no. 14. The variation has the effect of adding Paul Fitzmaurice to the Ramsay Divestiture Team listed in Annexure B.
Office Support Services International Pty Ltd and Ian Leslie Scarffe
On 23 May OSSI and its director, Mr Ian Scarffe agreed to consent orders in the Federal Court, Adelaide, including declarations that in dealings with three prospective franchisees in 2003 they breached the Franchising Code of Conduct and also engaged in conduct that was misleading or deceptive, or was likely to mislead or deceive, in contravention of s. 52 of the Act.
In addition to ongoing injunctions restraining OSSI and Scarffe from engaging in the conduct declared by the Federal Court to be unlawful, injunctions were granted that require Mr Scarffe, in specified circumstances, to provide people to whom he promotes or sells any future business opportunity with:
a copy of the orders made by the Federal Court, by way of disclosure, for a period of two years
certification from a CPA that any financial details or projections are true and correct or based on reasonable grounds, for a period of three years.
The court further ordered Mr Scarffe to attend at his own expense trade practices compliance training.
On 23 May 2005 Holmac Sales Pty Ltd gave court enforceable undertakings to the ACCC.
Holmac Sales Pty Ltd is incorporated in Western Australia and carries on business as a distributor of Dewlands fruit juice products. Holmac imports the Dewland fruit juice products from South Africa. Between July 2003 and January 2005 Holmac distributed the Dewlands range to outlets across Australia.
The ACCC was concerned that illustrations and representations on the packaging of many of the products in the Dewlands range created the overall impression that the products contained 100 per cent of one kind of fruit juice, when they actually contained a blend of different fruit juices. Similarly, the ACCC was also concerned that the products were labelled ‘100% fruit juice’ when the addition of vitamin C mean this was not the case.
The ACCC considers that as a result, Holmac Sales was likely to have breached ss. 52, 53(a) and 55 of the Trade Practices Act.
Holmac Sales acknowledges the ACCC’s concerns and admits that its conduct may have misled consumers and that such conduct may have been in contravention of ss. 52, 53(a) and 55 of the Act.
Holmac Sales has given court-enforceable undertakings that it:
will not create an overall impression that a juice product contains 100 per cent of a particular fruit juice, when the juice product in fact contains numerous types of fruit juice
will not represent a juice product to be 100 per cent fruit juice when vitamin C has been added to that product
will publish a corrective notice in a major daily newspaper in each state and territory and
will implement and maintain a trade practices compliance program.
Autex Pty Limited
On 13 May 2005 Autex Pty Limited provided a s. 87B undertaking to the ACCC in respect of future representations it will make regarding the 'R value' or insulation value of its domestic polyester insulation batts.
It undertakes that all representations it makes concerning the 'R value' of such products will be derived from and be consistent with procedures and testing compliant with Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4859. Autex Pty Limited will also implement a corporate compliance program that will be consistent with the Australian Standard for compliance programs—AS 3806.
Auspoly Pty Limited
On 13 May 2005 Auspoly Pty Limited provided a s. 87B undertaking to the ACCC in respect of future representations it will make regarding the 'R value' or insulation value of its domestic polyester insulation batts.
It undertakes that all representations it makes concerning the 'R value' of these products will be derived from and be consistent with procedures and testing compliant with Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4859. Ausploy Pty Limited will also implement a corporate compliance program that will be consistent with the Australian Standard for compliance programs—AS 3806
British American Tobacco Australia Limited
On 11 May British American Tobacco Australia Limited gave court enforceable undertakings to the ACCC that it:
will not make claims about the health benefits of low yield cigarettes when compared to high yield cigarettes
will remove ‘light’ and ‘mild’ descriptors and related numbers from all cigarettes produced for Australian consumers from 31 May 2005
will pay $4 million to fund anti-smoking information campaigns and programs concerning low yield cigarettes.
On 10 May 2005 Philip Morris gave court enforceable undertakings to the ACCC that it:
will not make claims about the health benefits of low yield cigarettes when compared to high yield cigarettes
will remove ‘light’ and ‘mild’ descriptors and related numbers from all cigarettes produced for Australian consumers from 31 July 2005
will pay $4 million to fund anti-smoking information campaigns and programs concerning low yield cigarettes.
Wizard Home Loans Pty Ltd
On 9 May 2005 in the Federal Court, Brisbane, Wizard Home Loans Pty Ltd agreed to give s. 87B undertakings to the ACCC that it will not for a period of three years make representations to any mobile lending manager candidate about the annual commission that person may earn unless there are reasonable grounds after considering:
the average annual commissions earned by mobile lending managers at that time
the average annual commissions earned by mobile lending managers engaged in the geographical area where that mobile lending manager will be or is engaged
the level of residential sales and sale prices in the geographical area where that mobile lending manager will be or is engaged
the number of mobile lending managers engaged at that time and to be engaged during the next 12 months in the same geographical area.
As part of this undertaking Wizard will implement and maintain a trade practices compliance program for a period of three years.
On 5 May 2005 Berri Limited provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC in respect of its Fruitful SuperJuice range of products which the ACCC alleged contravened ss. 52, 52(a), 53(c), and 55 of the Trade Practices Act.
Berri Limited represented its Green Zone Fruitful SuperJuice product contained a 'shot' of wheatgrass, barley grass and spirulinas (grass additives) when it contained amounts of each of the green additives in quantities less than a 'shot'.
Berri Limited represented its Green Zone, Immune and Kickstart Fruitful SuperJuice products did not contain concentrates when the grass additives and other herbal additives contained in its three products were added in a concentrated powder form.
In the undertaking, Berri acknowledges that its Green Zone product has already been reformulated to accord with its product claims and Berri undertook to clarify that the 'no concentrates' representation referred to the fruit juice component of the product.
Berri undertook to clarify and assist consumer awareness by stating on its product packaging the quantity of its grass and herbal additives in the form of milligrams as well as by volume.
Berri also undertook to distribute information concerning this conduct and the ACCC's concern's to members of the Australian Fruit Juice Association via a newsletter. Furthermore, in an attempt to identify product claims that may need further consideration, Berri's future juice products will now be subject to consumer perusal before they reach the market place. This will be handled by a New Product's Committee that Berri is establishing pursuant to the undertaking.
