DeAgostini UK Ltd, a British publishing company, will provide refunds to some Australian consumers and has amended the advertising of its Radio Control magazine series following Australian Competition and Consumer Commission concerns that it had failed to disclose the full cash price of the magazine series to consumers.
DeAgostini publishes, amongst other publications, magazines known as Part Works Magazines, which consist of a series of magazine issues which are accompanied by parts that can be assembled in order to build a particular object.
One such series, Radio Control, became available for sale in Australia in February 2004. Each issue includes parts required to build a radio-controlled model of a Subaru Impreza car. The magazines were advertised at a price of $4.95 for the first issue and $14.95 for each issue thereafter. No indication was given, however, that the total number of issues required to build the car was 45, nor that the total price of the series was $662.75.
"The ACCC wrote to DeAgostini in March 2004 because it was concerned that the failure to disclose the total price of Radio Control may amount to a breach of s53C the Trade Practices Act 1974 which requires advertisers to state the full cash price in relation to goods or services, rather than just the instalment payments", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
In response to the ACCC's concerns, DeAgostini quickly cooperated with the ACCC and implemented measures to ensure that purchasers of the magazine were made aware of the full cash price of the series. It also established a refund process for those consumers who requested a refund on issues purchased before that time, and has undertaken to ensure that future series of Part Works Magazines contain adequate information for consumers regarding their full price.
"This outcome illustrates the importance for traders to fully inform consumers about the price of goods and services", Mr Samuel said.