Diamond seller fined $220,000

BRISBANE: A diamond merchant has been fined $220,000 for misleading Australian consumers in the promotion of a series of diamond sales. Carrerabenz Diamonds Industries pleaded guilty to 27 charges of misleading consumers in the Brisbane Federal Court earlier this month, after ongoing investigations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed breaches of the Trade Practices Act.

The court heard the company placed six advertisements in national newspapers promoting diamond sales at exhibition venues across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth between January and March 2003.

The advertisements featured diamond jewels with a "crazy price" and a "usual marked price", with the latter between 42 to 233 per cent higher. The company admitted the items had not been previously offered for sale in Australia or offered at the "usual marked price" as claimed.
 
In handing down the $220,000 fine, Justice Logan said the company had engaged in criminal conduct that was not easy to detect and involved a considerable investment of public funds in its investigation and prosecution.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the organisation would continue to "vigilantly" pursue businesses which sought to dupe consumers through false or misleading price comparisons.

"In this case, consumers were enticed by the company's misleading advertising to attend the diamond sales in the mistaken belief that they would be getting a bargain based upon the difference between the 'usual' and 'crazy' price."