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Noel Leeming charged over price match claim breaches

Noel Leeming charged over price match claim breaches

Photo: ODT Files
Criminal charges have been filed against retailer Noel Leeming for alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act.
The Commerce Commission said it relates to its long-running price promise, which is their commitment to match any competitors' price.
But the commission said the claim is misleading and had limitations and conditions which weren't made obvious to customers.
It said fine print should not contradict advertising claims.
In response, Noel Leeming's owner, the Warehouse Group, said it was baffled by the Commission's decision to press charges and maintains it has not committed any offence.
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Energy reform has to go beyond cheaper off-peak power

First published on Photo: 123rf Opinion - The spotlight is again on New Zealand's energy sector , with a group of industry bodies and independent retailers pushing for a market overhaul, saying the sector was "broken" and "driving up the cost of living". The Commerce Commission and the Electricity Authority has already established a joint taskforce , after prices peaked in 2024, to investigate ways to improve the performance of the electricity market. The Authority recently announced new rules requiring larger electricity retailers to offer lower off-peak power prices from next year. The government is also expected to make further announcements on the sector. But the question is whether these changes will do enough to help New Zealanders live affordably in dry and warm homes. Some 30 percent of households face energy hardship . This means they struggle to afford or access sufficient energy to meet their daily needs. Caused by a combination of poor housing quality , high energy costs and the specific needs of vulnerable residents, energy hardship can lead to serious health issues and high hospital admission costs . We know from our own research over the past 18 years that having power disconnected can negatively affect health and wellbeing. People have told us that not being able to afford enough power to keep warm made them more likely to get sick and exacerbated existing health conditions. They described mental distress from unaffordable electricity and the threat of disconnection. Research participants used words such as "stressed", "anxious" or "depressed". They also spoke about having to choose between food and power bills. If power is disconnected, there can be additional costs from losing food in the fridge and freezer, as well as the problem of paying disconnection and reconnection fees when people already can't afford the bill. People have said not being able to afford enough power to keep warm made them more likely to get sick and exacerbated existing health conditions. Photo: 123RF In 2024, a "dry year" that increased the value of hydro generation, combined with lower-than-usual wind and declining supply of gas, resulted in wholesale electricity price spikes . But these winter shortages aren't the only factor pushing up power bills. Electricity bills reflect several costs along the supply chain from generation to getting the electricity to the sockets in our homes. A new regulatory period for lines charges from April 2025 increased bills by $10 to $25 per month, depending on where you live. At the same time, low fixed daily charges are being phased out . This means the cost of being connected to the grid is the same no matter how much power is used. It is the poorest New Zealanders who are being hardest hit. The lowest income households spend a bigger proportion of their income on power compared to higher income households. Having electricity prices increase faster than inflation will put even more families at risk. The average household electricity bill was up 8.7 percent in May 2025 compared to June 2024 . According to a recent Consumer NZ survey , 20 percent of respondents said they struggled to pay their power bill in the past year. The new Consumer Care Obligations might help reduce some of the risks. Power companies must now comply with these obligations when working with households struggling to pay their bills, are facing disconnection or have someone in the home who is medically dependent on electricity. If households feel their power company is not meeting these obligations, they can contact Utilities Disputes , a free independent electricity and gas complaint resolution service, or the Electricity Authority . But multiple changes are needed to address the different parts of the energy hardship problem. Improving home energy efficiency through schemes like Warmer Kiwi Homes is crucial. Introducing an Energy Performance Rating for houses would make it easier for home buyers and renters to know how much it will cost to power a home before they move in. This would also help target energy hardship support. The government can also make electricity more affordable by supporting not-for-profit power companies . Another good move would be to help more households to install rooftop solar by providing access to long-term low-interest finance . Lower prices during off-peak hours are a good start. But it is clear the sheer size and complexity of the problems mean government action, with community and industry collaboration, needs to go beyond slightly cheaper electricity when there is less demand. Kimberley O'Sullivan is a Senior Research Fellow, He Kāinga Oranga - Housing and Health Research Programme, University of Otago. - This story originally appeared on The Conversation.

Consumer NZ receives 50 complaints about Noel Leeming amid charges
Consumer NZ receives 50 complaints about Noel Leeming amid charges

NZ Herald

time2 days ago

  • NZ Herald

Consumer NZ receives 50 complaints about Noel Leeming amid charges

'Our advice to shoppers is that a price promise should be as advertised – without fishhooks and unreasonable conditions,' Duffy said. 'One of our investigations in November 2021 highlighted that the most frequent claim we encountered at Noel Leeming was the 'Price Promise'. 'It was used on every item we tracked, meaning the retailer should match the price of the product if a customer found it cheaper elsewhere. However, some appliances were exclusive to Noel Leeming, so you couldn't find them at other retailers.' A price promise or price match is where retailers promise to match the price of a competitor for the same item as long as certain conditions are met. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said the group had received a high number of complaints from consumers about the "Price Promise" practice by Noel Leeming. Photo / Supplied Duffy said Noel Leeming had received several warnings and compliance advice letters from the commission about potentially misleading consumers over the years. Duffy said penalties for Fair Trading Act breaches were not acting as a sufficient deterrent and he believed penalties needed to be increased. Noel Leeming was asked about the complaints received by Consumer NZ but declined to comment. Noel Leeming chief operating officer Jason Bell also wouldn't say how many complaints the business deals with, but said: 'We handle over three million transactions a year, if we don't get something right, we work hard to ensure fair resolutions for our customers.' Asked why the business used the 'price promise' promotional model, Bell said its competitors, including Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, had price match offers just like its own. More questions than answers First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said the Commerce Commission charges raised more questions than answers. 'ComCom's obviously been working at it for a while. This sector is probably one of the most challenging in terms of pricing to manage. 'Obviously, there are a number of sectors that do these price promises, but it's probably a more limited number of sectors that do it these days because it is such a challenge,' Wilkinson said. 'This is really now limited more towards the home improvement category, so between Mitre 10 and Bunnings. Of course, there's only really two players in that market.' He said the challenge for Noel Leeming in particular comes with appliances, a product category where there is price pressure from several competitors. Wilkinson suggested the promotion may have been a remnant of the strategy from previous leadership. Chris Wilkinson, managing director of First Retail Group, questioned why the Commerce Commission hadn't acted on the issue sooner. Photo / Mark Mitchell Off to court The commission alleges multiple breaches of the Fair Trading Act by Noel Leeming, which is owned by The Warehouse Group, for its 'Price Promise' promotion. 'For over a decade Noel Leeming has prominently promoted their 'Price Promise', which is their commitment to match any competitor's price. We believe their price promise claim was misleading and in breach of the Fair Trading Act,' Commerce Commission deputy chair Anne Callinan said. 'Price match advertising gives the impression that customers will be able to show up and get a match for competitors' prices … 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.' However, Noel Leeming's Bell said they were baffled by the Commerce Commission's decision to press charges. 'We firmly maintain that we have committed no offence and will vigorously defend this. '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. '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. Price matching is widely used by the industry, and it helps drive competition, and without it, Kiwis will end up paying more.' Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.

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