Image Blinds Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking

Image Blinds Pty Ltd (Image Blinds) sells made to measure blinds and awnings in South-East Queensland.

Between November 2007 and March 2009 Image Blinds conducted an advertising campaign in the Sunday Mail newspaper where it advertised certain products at discounts of “30% off”.  From about July 2008 until March 2009, Image Blinds advertised discounts of “30% off” all its products.

While Image Blinds regularly changed the name of the sale (for example from ‘Christmas Sale’ to ‘Summer Sale’ to ‘Winter Sale’) throughout the Advertising Campaign, the purported discount remained the same and did not represent any special savings.

Image Blinds admits that:

• The savings represented in the campaign were determined by reference to its own internal recommended retail prices, rather than the lower prices at which the products were generally sold.
• The “30% off” discounts offered during the campaign did not accurately reflect actual savings available on the advertised products.

Image Blinds accepts that by engaging in this conduct it breached sections 52 and 53(e) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act).

Image Blinds has ceased the conduct of concern and has offered the ACCC an undertaking under section 87B of the Act that it will:

• not make any misleading price representations for a period of three years;
• publish corrective notices on its website, in its retail store and in the Sunday Mail newspaper;
• publish an information notice in a relevant industry magazine; and
• implement and maintain a Trade Practices Compliance program for a period of three years.