Harbin Pty Ltd - variation - s.87B undertaking

On 21 September 2004 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accepted court enforceable undertakings, pursuant to section 87B of the Trade Practices Act 1974, from Harbin Pty Ltd trading as Ray's Outdoors.

The acceptance of the undertaking was in resolution of the ACCC's concerns that in supplying Wild Country elastic luggage straps Ray's Outdoors may have breached the mandatory product safety standard for elastic luggage straps that is prescribed under the Act.  Due to potential harm that luggage straps can cause the mandatory safety standard requires them to have a permanently attached label containing a specifically worded warning.

Upon investigation the ACCC found that these straps did not appear to comply with the mandatory safety standard.  Once Ray's Outdoors was notified of the problem by the ACCC it acted quickly by withdrawing all Wild Country straps from point of sale, volunteering to re-label Wild Country straps to comply with the mandatory safety standard, and volunteering to place recall notices in relevant newspapers throughout Victoria.  Ray's Outdoors also volunteered to upgrade its trade practices compliance program with a focus on consumer product safety standards, and to continue to review its trade practices compliance program with the assistance of an independent annual audit of its program.

The undertaking which has been complied with by Ray’s Outdoors for the past five years did not include an expiry date.  Accordingly, a variation was executed in December 2009 whereby the ACCC consented to concluding Ray’s Outdoors’ obligations.