The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched legal action against Woolworths and Coles separately in the Federal Court, accusing the supermarket giants of misleading consumers with false discount claims on hundreds of products. According to the ACCC, the discounts advertised by the supermarkets were allegedly not genuine and were misleading to shoppers.
The ACCC became aware of this issue through consumer complaints and social media monitoring, leading to a thorough investigation. The regulator is now seeking declarations, penalties, and costs. The ACCC is also seeking community service orders that Woolworths and Coles must each fund a registered charity to deliver meals to Australians in need, in addition to their pre-existing charitable meal delivery programs.
What is the ACCC?
Commonly known as the ACCC, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent Commonwealth statutory authority established to administer and enforce the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Their goal is to promote competition, fair trading, and regulating national infrastructure to achieve lower prices, better quality products and services, and more choice.
What are the claims being heard in Court?
The ACCC is alleging that Coles and Woolworths mislead their customers by increasing the prices of certain products by at least 15% after selling them at a regular price for about 180 days. The supermarkets then featured these products in their discount programs — Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” and Coles’ “Down Down.” The ACCC claims this gave customers the false impression that the products were being offered at a discount, when in reality, the prices were either higher than or the same as the original regular prices.
An Example of the Alleged Conduct of Woolworths:
The ACCC alleges that Woolworths made false or misleading representations to their customers about the prices of 266 products between September 2021 and May 2023.
For Example: On or around 1 January 2021 until 27 November 2022, Woolworths offered the Oreo Family Pack Original 370g product for sale at a regular price of $3.50 on a pre-existing “Prices Dropped” promotion for at least 696 days.
On 28 November 2022, the price was increased to $5.00 for a period of 22 days. On 20 December 2022, the product was placed on a “Prices Dropped” promotion with the tickets showing a price of $4.50 and a “was” price of $5.00. The price of $4.50 was in fact 29% higher than the product’s previous regular price of $3.50.
An Example of the Alleged Conduct of Coles:
The ACCC alleges that Coles made false or misleading representations to their customers about the prices of 245 products between February 2022 and May 2023.
For Example: On or around 1 January 2021 until 11 October 2022, Coles offered the Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16 pack product for sale at a regular price of $5.50 on a pre-existing “Down Down” promotion for at least 649 days.
On 12 October 2022, the price was then increased to $7.00 for a period of 28 days. On 9 November 2022, the product was placed on a “Down Down” promotion with the tickets showing a price of $6.00 and a “was” price of $7.00. The price of $6.00 was in fact 9% higher than the product’s previous regular price of $5.50.
Sources:
https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/accc-role-and-structure/about-the-accc
