Pet Circle, a large pet product retailer, has come under the spotlight of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC investigation has resulted in Pet Circle agreeing to pay penalties of $26,640, to reimburse 5400 customers and to establish and maintain an ACL compliance program.
The ACCC alleges that Pet Circle made false or misleading representations on its website about the price of some goods at ‘checkout’. The total order price displayed at checkout was incorrect when some customers used a discount code or voucher applied at the point of sale.
The ACCC also alleges that Pet Circle's pricing statement “Don’t pay $X, save Y” represented to consumers that the higher ‘Don’t pay’ price was a price that Pet Circle, or one of its competitors, had recently sold the product for. Pet Circle admitted that this was not the case and often the higher price was the Recommended Retail Price of the manufacturer. In the undertaking provided to the ACCC, Pet Circle admitted that this conduct also likely contravened the ACL. You can read more here.
The ACCC alleges that Pet Circle made false or misleading representations on its website about the price of some goods at ‘checkout’. The total order price displayed at checkout was incorrect when some customers used a discount code or voucher applied at the point of sale.
The ACCC also alleges that Pet Circle's pricing statement “Don’t pay $X, save Y” represented to consumers that the higher ‘Don’t pay’ price was a price that Pet Circle, or one of its competitors, had recently sold the product for. Pet Circle admitted that this was not the case and often the higher price was the Recommended Retail Price of the manufacturer. In the undertaking provided to the ACCC, Pet Circle admitted that this conduct also likely contravened the ACL. You can read more here.