ACCC Pulls Up SA Retailer

By Annette Shailer

A recent case involving a South Australian retailer and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has highlighted the need for the liquor retail sector to ensure accurate representation when it comes to customer savings and promotions.

South Australian wine retailer Moving Juice has been forced to acknowledge it may have misled and deceived consumers, following an investigation by the ACCC.

The company has posted an apology on its website outlining the misrepresentations in price savings of its sales promotions.

The corrective notice details the misrepresentations made during February, March and April last year when the retailer promoted two Coopers beer and Dog Leg wine specials where customers would receive a ‘free’ and ‘absolutely free’ slab of Coopers beer with every dozen bottles of Dog Leg wine purchased.

“Our promotions may have misled you because the price of a dozen bottles of Dog Leg wine sold in the specials was increased from its normal price to incorporate most or part of the cost of the beer. The beer was therefore not ‘free’ or ‘absolutely free’,” the corrective notice states.

Moving Juice also advertised in April last year certain wines on their website as ‘was $x now $y’, however the wine had not been offered or sold for the higher ‘was’ price since before November, 2007.

Moving Juice is to publish corrective notices, donate $2000 to charity and not use false, misleading or deceptive representations in the price of goods and services.

Moving Juice was contacted for this story and declined to comment.

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