Undertaking date

Undertaking type

s.87B undertaking

Section

Sections 18, 29(1)(a), 29(1)(g), 33 and 106 of the ACL

Industry

Sale of baby and children's products

Company or individual details

  • Name

    Baby Bunting Pty Ltd

    ACN

    128 546 154

Undertaking

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Baby Bunting Pty Ltd (Baby Bunting) in relation to the sale and promotion of convertible tricycle products that the ACCC considered were required to, but did not comply with the relevant mandatory safety standard for strollers.

Between October 2014 and May 2018, Baby Bunting supplied, and offered for supply, to consumers various convertible tricycle products including:

  1. SmarTrike Swing Hooded Baby Trike;
  2. SmarTrike Shine Hooded Baby Trike; and
  3. SmarTrike SmarTfold 500 Folding Trike,

collectively, the Products.

The ACCC considers the Products are strollers as defined in the Consumer Protection Notice No 8 of 2007: Consumer Product Safety Standard for Prams and Strollers (Mandatory Standard). Baby Bunting has accepted that the Products are likely to be captured by the definition of a stroller under the Mandatory Standard.

In promoting the Products, Baby Bunting published a number of statements and images on its website including the following statements:

  • “Smart Trike is a cool product that combines several functionalities together. Can’t decide whether you want a stroller or a trike?”
  • “Get a Smart Trike. These trikes have safety belts that hold your little one in their position. You can take the control and the device will act as a stroller...”
  • Suitable for: 9 months to 36 months”; and
  • Meets safety requirements”.

By publishing the statements on its website, Baby Bunting represented that each of the Products:

  1. met relevant safety requirements;
  2. were safe for transporting babies and young children; and
  3. were suitable for use as a stroller in earlier modes,

collectively, the Representations.

The ACCC considers the Representations were false and misleading because none of the Products possessed the required parking brake, tether strap, safety harness or safety warnings and accordingly the Products:

  1. did not meet the requirements of the Mandatory Standard;
  2. were not safe for transporting babies and young children; and
  3. were not suitable to be used as a stroller.

Baby Bunting has acknowledged that:

  1. by offering to supply and supplying the Products, Baby Bunting is likely to have contravened section 106 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
  2. by making the Representations via its website, Baby Bunting is likely to have contravened sections 18, 29(1)(a), 29(1)(g), and 33 of the ACL.

Baby Bunting has provided a section 87B undertaking to the ACCC in which it has undertaken that it will not supply or offer to supply convertible tricycles which are strollers unless they comply with the Mandatory Standard and Baby Bunting has obtained written evidence confirming that the convertible tricycles comply with the Mandatory Standard. Baby Bunting has also undertaken to implement a consumer law compliance program.