Independent national consumer law big dog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Woolworths and Coles to court over claims that the shopping giants breached consumer law by misleading customers and gouging their prices. And let us be the first to say: Go get ’em!!!!!
Following consumer contact, social media monitoring and an in-depth investigation, the ACCC alleges that Woolworths and Coles misled consumers through consistent claims that they were discounting prices on hundreds of everyday products, despite the regular long-term prices remaining the same.
The watchdog claimed that the sneaky sneaks at Woolies and Coles would subject products to price rises of “at least 15 per cent for brief periods” before putting them in promotions that advertise discounts. For Coles, this was the “Down Down” promotion and for Woolies, it was referred to as “Prices Dropped”.
These supposed discounts would be at lower prices than the price spike, but generally higher than or the same as the regular price of the product.
The ACCC allege that between September 2021 and May 2023, Woolworths made false or misleading representations about the prices of 266 products to consumers. Meanwhile, the ACCC alleges that Coles made false or misleading representations about the prices of 245 products between February 2022 and May 2023.
In-store and online, this was represented by pricing tags which displayed the ‘was’ price — or the price the product was during the short-term price spike — along with the more recent “discount”.
As the cost of living rises significantly, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says it’s imperative for consumers to be able to trust the accuracy of prices so they can shop around for the best deals.
“Many consumers rely on discounts to help their grocery budgets stretch further, particularly during this time of cost of living pressures,” she explains.
“We allege these misleading claims about illusory discounts diminished the ability of consumers to make informed choices about what products to buy, and where.”
The allegations from the ACCC come after many years of both Coles and Woolies flogging these promotions.
“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory,” said Cass-Gottlieb.
“We also allege that in many cases both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ promotion before the price spike, and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price.”
The news of the ACCC taking Coles and Woolies to court comes after the watchdog asked the public to dish the dirt in a national inquiry back in February.
It was a move supported by Prime Minster Anthony Albanese after the supermarkets received significant scrutiny over the profits they were making. He told the media in January that he would do what he could to help the ACCC in investigating claims that the supermarkets were price gouging.
According to the ACCC, Coles and Woolies could face a maximum penalty of $50,000,000 for each breach after it increased in November 2022.
The post The ACCC Is Taking Woolies & Coles To Court Over Price Gouging Allegations appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
