By Rebecca Styles
Research Lead | Hautū Rangahau
This week the Commerce Commission filed seven charges under the Fair Trading Act against Beau Ideal Ltd, formerly trading as Beaurepaires.
Ryan Smith / Flickr
The Commission alleges Beaurepaires, now trading as Advantage Tyre Solutions, sold non-compliant extended warranties without its customers’ knowledge or consent.
Under current law, when an extended warranty is offered, a comparison between what protections existing consumer law offers and the proposed added value of the extended warranty is meant to be spelt out.
The Commission alleges Beaurepaires didn’t do this, and that customers were unaware they were buying the warranties and weren’t given an opportunity to opt-out of buying them.
The Commerce Commission’s fair trading general manager Vanessa Horne said, “All businesses have a responsibility to be transparent about extended warranties and consumers’ existing rights so consumers can make an informed decision.”
The maximum penalty for selling goods without the customer’s knowledge or consent under the Fair Trading Act is $600,000 for each offence. For selling extended warranties without the appropriate disclosure statements the penalty is $30,000.
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