JB Hi-Fi pays $13.5m to settle The Good Guys promotions lawsuit
Retail giant JB Hi-Fi has agreed to pay a $13.5 million fine to settle allegations that certain store promotions at The Good Guys were misleading and deceptive.
The company, which owns the discount white goods and electronics warehouses, has also agreed to a remediation program for some customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission started legal action against JB Hi-Fi in Federal Court in July last year over certain store credit and StoreCash promotions, alleging they violated consumer law.
The Good Guys promised to provide customers with store credit for buying goods — such as $50 in StoreCash for a $500 purchase — but the retailer didn't disclose they also had to opt-in to receive marketing communications, the ACCC said at the time.
The retailer also didn't adequately mention the credits expired quickly, mostly within seven and 10 days, the ACCC said.
'We are concerned that as a result of the alleged conduct, consumers may have purchased products from The Good Guys which they might not have done otherwise,' ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said when it launched court proceedings.
'Businesses should be on notice that promotional conditions must be prominently disclosed to consumers, rather than buried in hard-to-find locations, or they risk enforcement action under the Australian consumer law.'
The ACCC said 116 promotion ran from July 2019 to August 2023.
'The Good Guys takes its compliance with the law very seriously and has worked co-operatively with the ACCC to resolve the matter,' JB Hi-Fi said in a statement on Monday.
'The Good Guys has always sought to provide value and benefits to its customers and has always prided itself on its high levels of trust with consumers.'
JB Hi-Fi has also agreed to contribute $200,000 to the ACCC's court costs.
The ACCC said the agreement was subject to Federal Court approval and full details of the outcome would be made public when the court announced its judgment.
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