Christofi Investments, owner of the Ugg Australia Classic website, has paid a $39,600 fine after the consumer watchdog issued the company with two infringement notices.
The notices alleged that Christofi had made misleading pricing claims on the Ugg Originals and Ugg Australian Classic websites.
According to the ACCC, Christofi allegedly advertised classic ugg slippers and platform uggs at an apparently discounted price alongside a higher strikethrough “was” price.
The ACCC alleges that these claims were false or misleading in breach of the Australian Consumer Law because the products had not been offered for sale or sold at the higher price claimed in the advertisements in a reasonable period beforehand.
“The ACCC was concerned that consumers were likely to have been misled by the Ugg websites’ claims they were getting ugg boots and slippers at a genuine discount, when we allege this was not the case,” ACCC commissioner Luke Woodward said.
“It is a breach of Australian Consumer Law to mislead consumers about products or pricing. We remind retailers that the ACL applies just as much to online stores as it does to brick-and-mortar stores.”
“The ACCC continues to actively pursue cases involving misleading pricing practices by supermarkets and other retailers. False pricing claims do not just cause harm to consumers, they harm competing retailers who present their prices fairly and accurately.”
Christofi owns the Ugg Australia Classic website and administers the Ugg Originals website and advertised the Ugg products with allegedly misleading was/now pricing claims on both websites.
The ACCC was alerted to the conduct by consumer complaints to its Infocentre.