LG who has a history of lying and decieving consumers about their products, has again been targeted again by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, for dodgy TV marketing.
In the past LG Australia has been fined millions for
misleading consumers, about their appliances yet despite their past history of deliberate manipulation
of both products and marketing information, the Korean Company has again fallen
foul of the ACCC.
This time the ACCC has commenced proceedings in the Federal
Court against LG Electronics Australia alleging that LG made false or
misleading representations to consumers about their rights in relation to
faulty LG TV products.
It is alleged by the ACCC that, in relation to complaints
about defects with its televisions, LG misrepresented to consumers, retailers
or repairers that:
the remedies available to consumers were limited to the LG
manufacturer’s warranty;
where the defect occurred after the LG manufacturer’s
warranty had expired:
the consumer was only entitled to a remedy if the consumer
paid for the costs of assessing the failure; and/or
LG had no further obligations, and any step it took in
relation to the television was an act of goodwill; and/or
the consumer was only entitled to have the television
repaired (and not to a refund or a replacement); and/or
the consumer was liable for the labour costs of the repair.
“When consumers buy products, they come with a consumer
guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law that they will be of acceptable
quality. This guarantee is in addition to any express manufacturer’s warranty,”
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
“Although the manufacturer’s warranty only applies for a
specified period of time, consumers will often still be entitled under the
consumer guarantee to a repair, refund or replacement after the manufacturer’s
warranty ends.”
” The ACCC will not
hesitate to take appropriate action against manufacturers who misrepresent
consumers’ rights and remedies for defective products under the Australian
Consumer Law,” Mr Sims said. “The Australian Parliament has conferred these
important rights on consumers, and these rights should not be undermined by
misrepresentations.”
The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, pecuniary
penalties, corrective notices, a trade practices compliance program and costs.
The matter is listed for a Case Management Conference in the
Federal Court in Melbourne before Justice Middleton on 5 February 2016 at
10:15am.
The ACCC has gone out of their way to highlight the fact
that the Federal Government funded consumer watchdog has previously taken court
action against LG for misleading or deceptive conduct with respect to the
existence and duration of statutory warranties. A copy of the ACCC’s final
media release dated 5 July 2006 can be found here.
LG has also previously provided the ACCC with three separate
section 87B undertakings relating to allegations of misleading or deceptive
conduct, in 2005, 2006 and 2010. A copy of these undertakings can be found on
the ACCC’s undertakings register.
