'Cook-on' barbecue supplier drops 'Australian-made' claims after ACCC action

Pricotech Leisure Brands Pty Ltd, the national distributor of the Cook-On range of gas barbecues, will no longer use descriptions such as Australian Made, Made in Australia or Proudly Australian in connection with any of its barbecues, after undertakings given to the Federal Court, Hobart and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today.

Pricotech, owned by The Galore Group of companies, which designs and builds the barbecues, will also place corrective advertisements in all major daily Australian newspapers offering refunds to affected consumers.

The ACCC instituted proceedings in May 1996 alleging that Pricotech had breached the Trade Practices Act by misrepresenting that four barbecues it supplied were made in Australia.

The ACCC's investigation found that significant components of the barbecues, such as the cast iron plates, grates, flame tamers and burners were sourced from China, and the gas cocks, regulators and ignition systems were imported from Italy. In some cases the barbecues were displayed on trolleys imported from China and Indonesia.

Pricotech has undertaken to provide refunds to consumers who purchased certain models of Cook-On barbecues between September 1994 and July 1996, and who relied on the representation that the barbecue was made in Australia. The models for which a refund is available are the Party Master Value Plus, Party Master Deluxe, Swagman and Mitre 10 Grevillea.

While the company had held a licence from the Advance Australia Foundation to use the Australian Made symbol on a number of its barbecues, it accepted that some consumers may have been misled by the country of origin claims used.

This case highlights that even when businesses have a licence to use a place of origin description, it remains their legal responsibility to ensure that all such claims about their products are accurate and, most importantly, give a truthful impression to potential purchasers, ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, warned today.

The company also consented to orders to pay the Commissions costs of $5,000.