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Mitre 10 Australia Ltd (Mitre 10) wholesales hardware, building products, outdoor items and homeware products to Mitre 10 licensed members in Australia (Mitre 10 Members).
Mitre 10 Members then sell the goods to consumers.
Mitre 10 held a two day “20% off storewide” sale (the Sale) on 13 and 14 February 2009 for all of its member stores except the Beenleigh Mega store.
The Sale was advertised on television and on its website.
The following terms and conditions applied to the Sale:
20% discount off ticketed prices.
Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount, bonus or other offer (including Manager’s Specials), or with any discount card.
Personal shopping only: no phone orders, online orders, lay-bys, rainchecks, account or trade purchases.
Excludes fuel, rural or agricultural products, tool hire, kitchen and bathroom packages, large kitchen appliances, trade, building materials, café, special orders, products sold under non-Mitre 10 trading names, and gift card purchases.
While stocks last.
Mitre 10 failed to disclose or adequately disclose in the television and website advertisements that the Sale was in fact subject to conditions that excluded certain types of products.
The ACCC raised concerns that Mitre 10’s failure to disclose or adequately disclose in the television and website advertisements the terms and conditions that applied to the Sale may have contravened the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act) by representing that a 20% discount applied to goods offered for sale by Mitre 10 member stores (except the Beenleigh Mega store) “storewide” when this was not the case.
Mitre 10 has admitted its conduct has contravened sections 52, 53(e) and 53(g) of the Act.
It is also noted that between June 2007 and August 2008 Mitre 10 imported and distributed elastic luggage straps that failed to comply with the labelling requirement in sub-regulation 11C of the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standards) Regulations 1979 (Regulations) and therefore may have contravened section 65C of the Act.
As a result of this conduct, on 17 February 2009 Mitre 10 provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC to not supply non-compliant elastic luggage straps and to establish and implement a Trade Practices Compliance Program.
Mitre 10 has now provided an expanded court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC to take account of its recent conduct in relation to the Sale. Mitre 10 has agreed that it will:
not represent that all or substantially all goods offered for sale by Mitre 10 Members are available for purchase at a discounted price over a specified period when all or substantially all of those goods are not available for purchase at the discounted price over that period;
not make a representation as to the price of goods, including the availability of a discount off the price, without clearly and prominently disclosing all relevant terms and conditions that may affect or change the price paid for the goods or affect the availability of a discount off the price
not offer to supply, supply, or enter into an agreement to supply elastic luggage straps that do not comply with section 65C of the Act and the Regulations; and
establish and implement an expanded Trade Practices Compliance Program which is designed to minimise the risk of future breaches of Part V of the Act, in particular, sections 52, 53(e), 53(g) and 65C.
The undertaking is for a period of 5 years.