Coles’ discounts misled shoppers, court rules. It could face hundreds of millions in fines |
Coles has been found to have misled its supermarket customers over discounts – and could now face hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
In a landmark case, Federal Court Justice Michael O'Bryan found 13 out of 14 sample sale tickets examined in the case had not offered genuine discounts, because Coles had not sold the products at a higher price for a reasonable period before promoting them with “Down Down” discounts.
In 2024, consumer watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was taking both of Australia’s biggest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, to court. It alleged they had each offered hundreds of discounts that an “ordinary customer” might think were genuine, but which were misleading.
Coles and the ACCC have been given until May 29 to agree on penalties and other orders, including a possible donation to Foodbank. A separate class action against Coles by customers will also be dealt with at the same time. If they can’t agree, they will head back to court.
The maximum penalty in this case could be A$50 million per breach of consumer law, or more, which is why the total could stretch into hundreds of millions.
However, an appeal from Coles is still possible. Coles has said it’s “reviewing the judgement”.
Justice O'Bryan is set to rule on the case against Woolworths at a later date. Around two thirds of all Australian supermarket sales are made at Woolworths........