Undertaking date

Undertaking type

s.87B undertaking

Reference number

D11/2336325

Section

ss. 52, 53(a) & 75AZC(a)

Company or individual details

  • Name

    True Value Solar Pty Ltd

    ACN

    143 232 482

Undertaking

The ACCC has accepted a Section 87B Undertaking from True Value Solar Pty Ltd (TVS) following an investigation relating to breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), comprising Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. TVS has also paid two Infringement Notice Penalties to the ACCC in the amount of $13,200.

TVS acknowledges that it was likely to have contravened section 18 and sub-section 29(1)(g) of the ACL by publishing advertisements in newspapers in Western Australia and South Australia that promoted a particular solar panel system with the headline 'Australia Day 3kW Deal'. Included in the advertised solar panel system were '3kW of Inverters' and '8 x 190W High Efficiency Panels'. Similar advertisements were sent via facsimile to approximately 80,000 consumers in South Australia and Western Australia.

8 x 190W solar panels can produce a total of 1520W (1.52kW) of DC electrical energy. The function of the inverter is to convert DC power into AC power and therefore the output from the advertised solar panel system was limited to the maximum output of the panels. Accordingly, the advertised solar panel system only produced a maximum of 1.52kW of AC power.

To address the ACCC's concerns, TVS has provided the ACCC with court enforceable Undertakings which require TVS to:

  • refrain from engaging in similar conduct in the future; and
  • establish and implement a Trade Practices Compliance Program.