JB Hi-Fi’s subsidiary The Good Guys is facing legal action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for alleged deceptive misrepresentations around its ‘StoreCash’ promotions.
The ACCC said that The Good Guys ran 116 promotions between July 2019 and August last year, offering consumers a store credit or StoreCash if they spent a certain amount on qualifying products in its online or physical stores.
However, the ACCC alleged that the consumer electronics retailer falsely said that the only requirement to receive the store credit was to make a qualifying purchase, when customers also needed to opt in to receive marketing communications to gain store credits.
The Good Guys also allegedly claimed the StoreCash would not expire or would only expire after a reasonable period, when for the majority of its promotions, it expired within seven to 10 days.
Moreover, the ACCC alleged that The Good Guys failed to provide store credits to thousands of qualified customers within the specified period or within a reasonable time.
“We allege that the conditions for consumers to receive a store credit as part of The Good Guys’ promotions were not communicated adequately in The Good Guys’ marketing materials,” said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
“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 consumer watchdog is seeking consumer redress, penalties, declarations, compliance orders, publication orders, and costs.