Online clothing label and retailer A&S Labels Pty Ltd (trading as Tiger Mist) has paid penalties of $26,640 after the ACCC issued it with two infringement notices for allegedly misleading consumers about their right to return faulty items.
A competitive ad tech supply chain is important for Australian advertisers, publishers and ultimately consumers, ACCC Chair Rod Sims said today.
The Federal Court has found online retailer Kogan Australia Pty Ltd (Kogan) breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false and misleading representations about a tax time sales promotion, in proceedings brought by the ACCC.
Kogan ran the online promotion from 27 to 30 June 2018, advertising to consumers that they could use the code ‘TAXTIME’ to reduce prices by 10 per cent at checkout. The promotion was advertised on Kogan’s website, in emails it sent to more than 10 million consumers, and in SMS messages to more than 930,000 consumers.
Customer loyalty schemes, including frequent flyer, supermarket and credit card operators, must ensure they are not misleading consumers according to an ACCC draft report released today for comment.
The ACCC’s Customer Loyalty Schemes draft report highlights a number of concerns:
The ACCC will today begin a safety review of products designed for infants such as bouncers, rockers and inclined sleep products.
The market review will be on inclined baby products used for sleeping, where the baby’s head and back are inclined, and may include a harness or belt to secure the baby into the product.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that at least 74 infant fatalities have occurred in the United States while using bouncers, rockers and recliners.
Australian businesses reported more than 5800 scams with losses exceeding $7.2 million in 2018, a 53 per cent increase compared to 2017, according to the ACCC’s Targeting scams report.
Much of this increase is due to the $3.8 million reported lost to sophisticated ‘business email compromise’ scams. When combined with losses reported to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, these scams cost Australian businesses over $60 million.
Chairman Rod Sims has announced the ACCC’s product safety priorities for 2018 at the National Consumer Congress. Mr Sims has reaffirmed the ACCC's support for a general safety provision to be introduced in Australia law to reduce the risk of unsafe goods entering the market, and the nine critical safety issues facing Australian consumers.
When buying tickets for your favourite sporting or entertainment event, make sure you are dealing with an authorised seller and follow our tips for protecting yourself and getting the best seats.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is assessing the review policies of sharing economy platforms as part of an international initiative targeting online reviews and endorsements.
This review is part of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN)’s annual internet sweep, involving over 50 consumer protection agencies around the world. This year the focus of the sweep is ‘Online Reviews and Endorsements’ and the ACCC will be focusing on the way in which reviews operate in the sharing economy.