JB Hi-Fi has admitted it engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct after one of its New South Wales stores sold used mobile phones as though they were actually new.
The problem was discovered after a complaint from a customer. On two separate occasions in June 2008, she purchased what she thought was a new Nokia mobile phone from a JB Hi-Fi store at Westfield Kotara in Newcastle, only to discover contacts and video clips created by the phone’s previous owners.
JB Hi-Fi – which the ACCC says has been “very co-operative in resolving this matter” – claims the error occurred when returned mobile phones were accidentally mixed with existing stock.
The ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says businesses must make sure customers actually get what they have paid for.
“When buying a mobile phone, consumers are entitled to expect it is new and hasn’t previously been used or returned as faulty. Supplying a used product by mistake or otherwise is deceptive.
“While it may have been an error in this case, in general consumers should be fully informed about the actual product they are taking home.”
JB H-Fi has given the ACCC court-enforceable undertakings that it will publish corrective notices in the Newcastle Post newspaper and in the Kotara store for eight weeks.
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James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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