Coles and Woolworths face class actions over claims misleading promotions deceived customers
Coles and Woolworths are facing class actions after being accused of misleading customers with promotions.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn is representing shoppers who allege in a Federal Court claim that the supermarkets engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, unconscionable conduct and a breach of consumer guarantees.The supermarket giants have denied any wrongdoing.
The class actions allege that Coles and Woolworths used promotions to deceive customers into believing they were getting a better deal than they actually were.
The promotions included:- "Half-price" sales that were not actually half price
- "Buy one, get one free" sales that were not actually free
- "Two-for-one" sales that were not actually two for the price of one
The law firm alleges the supermarkets engaged in this conduct over several years.
The law firm is seeking compensation for shoppers who have been misled by the promotions.
Maurice Blackburn said it will seek compensation for shoppers who purchased products during the promotional period and were misled about the true price.The law firm is also seeking injunctions to stop the supermarkets from engaging in similar conduct in the future.
The supermarkets have denied any wrongdoing and said they will defend the claims.
Coles said it "strongly refutes" the allegations and will defend the proceedings. Woolworths said it "does not believe there is any merit to the claims" and will also defend the proceedings.The class actions are the latest in a series of legal challenges against supermarkets over their promotions.
