Pet Circle has paid fines worth $26,640 for stating misleading prices of pet supplies on its website to two customers, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported.

Some 5400 affected shoppers said they had used the discount codes for their purchases, but the total order price was displayed incorrectly as they were later charged an additional amount equal to the discount.

After receiving the infringement notices from the ACCC, Pet Circle has committed to reimburse all the customers who were charged a higher price than displayed at checkout, said ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver.

The regulator has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Pet Circle where it admitted that this conduct likely contravened the Australian Consumer Law, and has agreed not to repeat similar conduct in the future.

“Online markets need to function well to support the modern economy. Part of that is ensuring consumers have the confidence they need to buy online. This requires retailers to accurately reflect the prices of goods sold on their websites,” Carver said.