It does not contain all enforcement responses before this date or enforcement responses withheld under the Official Information Act 1982.
Please note that judgments will be published as we receive them from the Court. This can sometimes be several months after the relevant hearing.
Selected Judgments
Enforcement Response Guidelines
Our guidelines describe how the Commission enforces New Zealand's fair trading, competition and credit contract laws.
| Parties | Act/Section | Description | Resolution | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VetLife Limited | Commerce Act 30 | VetLife Limited has been warned for likely breaching section 30 of the Commerce Act in relation to an agreement with a competing veterinary practice relating to the supply of Cepravin to a customer in 2015. | Warning letter | 2018 |
| NZ Trustees Association Charitable Trust | Fair Trading Act 13(c), 21C | NZ Trustees Association Charitable Trust has been warned for likely breaching sections 13(c) and 21C of the Fair Trading Act by sending invoices to registered charities for unsolicited membership services, without clearly informing the recipients of the invoice that they were under no obligation to make payment of the invoice; and falsely representing to the recipients of the invoices that they had agreed to acquire membership services from NZTA. | Warning letter | 2018 |
| Smart Farm Technologies Limited | Commerce Act 27 via s 30 | We have warned Smart Farm Technologies Limited that it likely breached section 27 via section 30 of the Commerce Act 1986 by entering into an agreement with Milfos on pricing for certain milk sensors (plus parts needed to install the sensors, a herd management system and installation services). | Warning letter | 2017 |
| New Zealand Fibre Communications Limited | Fair Trading Act 12A | NZ Fibre Communications Limited (trading as Stuff Fibre) has been warned for likely breaching section 12A of the Fair Trading Act by making unsubstantiated representations about the speed of its broadband services. | Warning Letter | 2017 |
| Receivables Management (NZ) Limited, Southern Receivables Limited, Allied Recoveries Limited, and RJK Receivables Limited | Fair Trading Act 13(i) CCCF Act 83ZM |
Debt collection group Receivables Management has agreed to credit more than $1.4 million to around 1,700 customers who were wrongly charged interest, costs and fees on loans after their goods had been repossessed and sold. | Out of court settlement | 2017 |
| TSB Bank Limited | CCCF Act 41, 51, 54(1) | TSB Bank Limited self reported three errors in its calculation of fees charged on the early termination of fixed rate home loans (break fees). The errors affected customers charged a break fee between 2008 and February 2016. | Out Of Court Settlement | 2017 |
| Auckland Academy of Learning Limited | Fair Trading Act 10, 13(e), 36L(3) | Auckland Academy of Learning Limited was fined $351,000 after pleading guilty to 9 representative charges under the Fair Trading Act 1986 relating to misrepresenting the performance characteristics, uses or benefits and the need for and suitability for purpose of the CAMI program. The company also plead guilty to 2 representative charges of failing to give consumers oral notice of the rights to cancel and uninvited direct sale agreement. | Judgment | 2017 |
| Tower Insurance Limited | Fair Trading Act 13(g) | Tower Insurance Limited overcharged insurance premiums to some of its customers between July 2003 and September 2016 due to incorrectly calculated multi-policy discounts. The Commission’s view was that in doing so, Tower had likely breached section 13(g) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 by making false representations to customers about the amount they were required to pay for insurance. Tower entered into a settlement agreement with the Commission and has agreed to refund affected customers and pay an amount to Citizens Advice Bureau. | Out of court settlement | 2017 |
| New Zealand Home Services Limited | Fair Trading Act 12A | New Zealand Home Services Limited has been warned for likely breaching section 12A of the Fair Trading Act by making unsubstantiated representations about the benefits of solar panel systems. | Warning letter | 2017 |
| Fujitsu General New Zealand Limited | Fair Trading Act 12A | Fujitsu General New Zealand Limited (Fujitsu) was fined $310,000 after pleading guilty to seven charges under the Fair Trading Act for making unsubstantiated and misleading claims about the energy efficiency and performance of some of its heat pumps. | Judgment | 2017 |
| Vodafone New Zealand Limited | Fair Trading Act 13(g) | Vodafone made false or misleading representations with respect to price by representing on invoices issued to customers who signed up to the Red Essentials Plan for mobile phones the incorrect price payable for such services. | Judgment | 2017 |
| Melric International Limited | Fair Trading Act 40(1) | Melric International Limited has been warned for likely committing an offence under section 40(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 in that, contrary to section 31(5) of the Act, it supplied goods that did not fully comply with the Unsafe Goods (Hot Water Bottles) Permanent Prohibition Notice 2016. | Warning letter | 2017 |
| Seymour Distributing Ltd | Fair Trading Act 40(1) | Seymour Distributing Ltd has been warned for likely committing an offence under section 40(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 in that, contrary to section 31(5) of the Act, it supplied goods that did not fully comply with the Unsafe Goods (Hot Water Bottles) Permanent Prohibition Notice 2016 (Notice). | Warning letter | 2017 |
| Veloce Vehicles | Fair Trading Act 28(1) | The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that Daniel Cain (trading as Veloce Vehicles) breached section 28(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 by failing to comply with the consumer information notice requirements for used motor vehicles set out in the Consumer Information Standards (Used Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2008. | Infringement – paid | 2017 |
| Kiwi Personal Finance Limited (KPFL) | CCCF Act 83G, 83ZN Fair Trading Act 13(j) |
Kiwi Personal Finance Limited (KPFL) has been warned for likely breaching section 13(i) of the Fair Trading Act for representations made in its contracts and repossession warning notices about its ability to repossess under ‘all present and after acquired property’ (APAAP) clauses. KPFL were also warned for likely breaching section 83G of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act as repossession warning notices were missing key information that is required under Schedule 3A. KPFL were also warned for possibly breaching section 13(i) of the Fair Trading Act and/or section 83ZN of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act for taking security interest over a “bedroom suite”. | Warning letter | 2017 |
| Macful International Limited | CCCF Act 17, 32 | Macful International Limited trading under the name Ezi Truck was fined $126,000 after pleading guilty to 16 charges under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 relating to failing to provide key information to borrowers before they entered into consumer credit contracts and failing to provide information clearly and concisely and knowingly failing to be registered on the financial service providers register and failing to become a member of a dispute resolutions scheme. | Judgment | 2017 |
| AFT Pharmaceuticals Limited | Fair Trading Act 10, 13(e) | AFT Pharmaceuticals Limited has been warned for likely breaching section 10 and 13(e) of the Fair Trading Act for representations made in their advertisements and on its packaging of the Maxiclear range that gave the impression that each of the four products were specifically formulated to treat particular symptoms when this was not the case. | Warning letter | 2017 |
| GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care New Zealand Limited | Fair Trading Act 10, 13(e) | GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care New Zealand Limited has been warned for likely breaching section 10 and 13(e) of the Fair Trading Act for misrepresentation as to the nature or characteristics of goods or their suitability for a purpose relating to Voltaren and Panadol products. | Warning letter | 2017 |
| ANZ Cars Limited | Fair Trading Act 28(1) | The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that ANZ Cars Limited breached section 28(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 by failing to comply with the consumer information notice requirements for used motor vehicles set out in the Consumer Information Standards (Used Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2008. | Infringement – paid | 2017 |
| Two Degrees New Zealand Limited | Fair Trading Act 13(g) | Two Degrees New Zealand Limited has been warned for likely breaching section 13(g) of the Fair Trading Act 1986 for advertisement of a broadband offer where essential pricing information related to the purchase and delivery of a modem was either inadequately disclosed, or not disclosed at all. | Warning letter | 2017 |
