Noel Leeming 'perplexed' over misleading advertising charges
The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against retailer Noel Leeming over what it says is a misleading price matching promotion.
Noel Leeming is a subsidiary of The Warehouse Group.
"For over a decade Noel Leeming has prominently promoted their 'Price Promise,' which is their commitment to match any competitors' price. We believe their price promise claim was misleading and in breach of the Fair Trading Act," Commerce Commission deputy chair Anne Callinan said.
"We believe Noel Leeming's price promise had many limitations and conditions which weren't made obvious to customers and made any price matches difficult to obtain.
"Fine print should not contradict advertising claims or be used to conceal important information which could be critical to a person's decision to buy goods or services."
Noel Leeming chief operating officer Jason Bell said the company "firmly" maintained it had not committed an offence and would vigourously defend itself against multiple charges of misleading customers under the Fair Trading Act.
"We're perplexed by the Commission's claim that price matches were difficult to obtain, when over 250,000 Kiwis saved money with our Price Promise between 2019-2021," he said.
"Our terms and conditions are fair and presented just like other retailers, and when we can't price match, we often don't get the sale."
Callinan said Noel Leeming had previously been one of the regulators most complained about traders involving a range of issues raised by consumers.
The commission had also filed charges against Noel Leeming regarding promotions where the advertised product or price was different to what could be purchased.
Other charges against Noel Leeming involved incorrect or misleading information about consumers' rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act, when customers complained about faulty products.
"We expect big businesses to be clear and honest in their advertising," she said.
"Consumers should be able to trust the information they receive when they are buying goods and services."
The maximum penalty for a single breach of the Fair Trading Act was $600,000 for businesses.
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