ACCC orders furniture retailer to give customers gift vouchers

Furniture and Bedding Concepts, which operates 107 retail stores under the Sleep City and Everyday Living brands, has agreed to offer some customers a $100 gift voucher after the corporate watchdog slammed it for misleading pricing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against the retailer after alleging some customers were likely misled by comparison pricing claims made in a 2008 catalogue.

The catalogue featured pricing comparisons that included a ‘Save $X’ offer, but the ACCC says the advertised savings amount was determined by the company’s internally-set recommend retail prices, not the actual prices at which rival products were sold.

The company has admitted its offers did not accurately reflect the actual savings available. It has said it will refrain from making false, misleading or deceptive representations, print corrective notices and publish an information notice in an industry publication.

The company will also offer a $100 gift voucher to customers who purchased an item promoted with the Save $X offer during the relevant sales period in 2008.

“Two-price advertising can be a very powerful tool in advertising and is designed to encourage consumers to buy a product by implying that the current price is less than they would pay outside a sale period,” ACCC acting chairman Peter Kell said today.

“However, retailers must ensure that the claimed savings are genuine or they run a
serious risk of breaching the law.

“The ACCC was pleased that Sleep City and Everyday Living co-operated with the ACCC during its investigation and offered redress to consumers who may have been affected.”