AUSTRALIA | The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against The Good Guys Discount Warehouses (Australia) Pty Ltd.
The Good Guys, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law, for allegedly making false or misleading representations about their store credit and ‘StoreCash’ promotions and failing to provide store credit to eligible consumers.
The Good Guys ran 116 promotions between July 2019 and August 2023. It offered consumers a store credit or StoreCash if they spent a certain amount on qualifying products in its online or physical stores.
The ACCC alleged that The Good Guys represented that the only requirement to receive the store credit was to make a qualifying purchase when that was not the case because consumers were also required to opt in to receive marketing communications to receive a store credit.
“We allege that The Good Guys' marketing materials did not adequately communicate the conditions for consumers to receive a store credit as part of The Good Guys’ promotions,” said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
The ACCC also alleged that The Good Guys represented that store credit or StoreCash would not expire or expire after a reasonable period, when, in fact, for most promotions, it expired within seven to ten days.
“We also understand that, for most promotions, the store credit offered expired within ten days or less, which many consumers were unaware of. We are concerned that due to the alleged conduct, consumers may have purchased products from The Good Guys, which they might not have done otherwise.”
She added that businesses should be on notice that promotional conditions must be prominently disclosed to consumers rather than buried in hard-to-find locations, or they risk enforcement action under the Australian Consumer Law.
The ACCC has also alleged that The Good Guys failed to provide store credits to thousands of eligible consumers within the time specified in the offers or within a reasonable time, a breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
“Even where consumers met the conditions, we allege that The Good Guys did not provide a store credit to many eligible consumers.”
The ACCC has sought consumer redress, penalties, declarations, compliance orders, publication orders, and costs.
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