Dell Australia found to have misled customers

Computer and tech company Dell Australia has landed in hot water after the Federal Court declared that the company misled customers with the prices of add-on monitor prices.

The trouble began in November last year when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) began proceedings against Dell Australia. Customers were meant to receive savings off the add-on monitors at checkout, but it was revealed that the products weren’t sold for the deal price and, in some cases, proved more expensive than buying the monitor outright.

“We brought these proceedings because we were concerned that Dell Australia had misled its consumers with false representations about its pricing and discounts,” said ACCC commissioner Liza Carver.

“In some cases, consumers paid more for the add-on monitor advertised as ‘discounted’ than they would have paid if they had bought it as a stand-alone product, which is shocking.”

Dell Australia has refunded or agreed to offer compensation to over 4,250 consumers. According to ACCC, customers spent over $2 million on add-on monitors between August 2019 and December 2021, the period when the offence occurred.

“As the court noted, price and discounts are key differentiating factors for consumers deciding between product offers, and this case reinforces the importance of retailers displaying genuine ‘was/now’ pricing and accurate savings,” explained Ms Carver.

“This case serves as an important reminder to businesses that suggestive upselling or bunding of products must not mislead consumers as to the deal they are getting.”

Affected customers have begun to be contacted to be offered full or partial refunds.

Liza Carver said that in last year’s proceedings: “Cases involving allegations of misleading ‘was/now’ pricing by large retailers of consumer goods are a priority for the ACCC. Businesses should be well aware of their legal requirements and should have effective compliance programs in place to prevent this type of consumer harm.”

“These proceedings are also significant because the alleged misleading conduct related to the online marketing of computers and monitors at a time when many families were in COVID lockdown. We know that many consumers turned to online purchases to buy equipment for working and schooling from home.”