Online PC reseller MSY Technology has been ordered to pay $750,000 in penalties by the Federal Court for misrepresenting consumers’ rights on remedies for faulty products.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took the company to court late last year, claiming MSY breached the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by misrepresenting consumers’ rights to repairs, replacements, or refunds when they purchased faulty products.
“Businesses must ensure their refund and returns policies, and any representations accurately reflect their obligations under consumer law,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
The ACCC accused MSY of a litany of offences: that it had discretion over whether a customer was entitled to a remedy for a faulty product; that it chose which remedy it would provide to customers; that it only provided remedies for products returned within seven days; that MSY may have required the customer to pay an administration fee to receive a remedy for a faulty product that was out of warranty; and that it did not provide any remedies over faulty software.
“These proceedings and the penalties imposed signal to businesses that the ACCC will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action where it identifies misleading representations about consumers’ rights,” Rickard said.
“This is the second time the ACCC has taken action against MSY entities. The court imposed penalties in 2011 for misleading consumer warranty representations.”
The Federal Court's orders to MSY also included injunctions, a comprehensive ACL compliance training program, publication orders and payment of $50,000 towards the ACCC’s costs.
After the proceedings, MSY made admissions and agreed to joint submissions on liability and relief, including penalty, which were filed with the court.
CRN reached out to MSY Technology by phone and email.
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