SYDNEY: M Webster Holdings has issued a corrective notice to consumers admitting it may have been misleading with false statements regarding refunds.
Issued via the company’s VIP E-News service for its David Lawrence brand, the statement refers to receipts issued from August 2008 to July 2010. It said the receipts stated that no refunds, exchanges or credits would be available for items bought on sale.
“Signs or notices of this nature may mislead consumers to believe that they have no right to a refund, exchange or credit on sale goods in any circumstances, which may be untrue because the consumer may be entitled to such a remedy in some cases,” it said.
“We admit that statements like “no refunds or exchanges on sale items” made on signs in our stores and on receipts were likely to be false, misleading or deceptive representations in contravention of sections 52 and 53(g) of the Trade Practices Act 1974.”
As previously reported on ragtrader.com.au, the company was forced to pay infringement notices totaling $19,800 after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) conducted an investigation into its refund policies for David Lawrence, Jigsaw and Marcs.
ACCC
chairman Graeme Samuel said retailers could not exclude a consumer’s
right to refund or exchange simply because goods are bought on
sale.
“There are a number of statutory warranties and
conditions implied into every consumer contract which sellers of
goods are unable to contract out of regardless of whether or not the
item is on sale,” he said.
“No refund signs or notices of
this nature may mislead consumers to believe that they have no right
to a refund, exchange or credit on sale goods in any circumstances,
which may be untrue because the consumer may be entitled to such
remedies.”
This includes goods which are damaged, do not
meet the description or are not fit for purpose. While a new consumer
guarantees regime will replace existing statutory warranties and
conditions on January 1, the underlying principle of refund policies
will stay the same.