Latest news with #ConsumerNZ
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Consumer NZ receives 50 complaints about Noel Leeming amid charges
'Our advice to shoppers is that a price promise should be as advertised – without fishhooks and unreasonable conditions,' Duffy said. 'One of our investigations in November 2021 highlighted that the most frequent claim we encountered at Noel Leeming was the 'Price Promise'. 'It was used on every item we tracked, meaning the retailer should match the price of the product if a customer found it cheaper elsewhere. However, some appliances were exclusive to Noel Leeming, so you couldn't find them at other retailers.' A price promise or price match is where retailers promise to match the price of a competitor for the same item as long as certain conditions are met. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said the group had received a high number of complaints from consumers about the "Price Promise" practice by Noel Leeming. Photo / Supplied Duffy said Noel Leeming had received several warnings and compliance advice letters from the commission about potentially misleading consumers over the years. Duffy said penalties for Fair Trading Act breaches were not acting as a sufficient deterrent and he believed penalties needed to be increased. Noel Leeming was asked about the complaints received by Consumer NZ but declined to comment. Noel Leeming chief operating officer Jason Bell also wouldn't say how many complaints the business deals with, but said: 'We handle over three million transactions a year, if we don't get something right, we work hard to ensure fair resolutions for our customers.' Asked why the business used the 'price promise' promotional model, Bell said its competitors, including Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, had price match offers just like its own. More questions than answers First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said the Commerce Commission charges raised more questions than answers. 'ComCom's obviously been working at it for a while. This sector is probably one of the most challenging in terms of pricing to manage. 'Obviously, there are a number of sectors that do these price promises, but it's probably a more limited number of sectors that do it these days because it is such a challenge,' Wilkinson said. 'This is really now limited more towards the home improvement category, so between Mitre 10 and Bunnings. Of course, there's only really two players in that market.' He said the challenge for Noel Leeming in particular comes with appliances, a product category where there is price pressure from several competitors. Wilkinson suggested the promotion may have been a remnant of the strategy from previous leadership. Chris Wilkinson, managing director of First Retail Group, questioned why the Commerce Commission hadn't acted on the issue sooner. Photo / Mark Mitchell Off to court The commission alleges multiple breaches of the Fair Trading Act by Noel Leeming, which is owned by The Warehouse Group, for its 'Price Promise' promotion. 'For over a decade Noel Leeming has prominently promoted their 'Price Promise', which is their commitment to match any competitor's price. We believe their price promise claim was misleading and in breach of the Fair Trading Act,' Commerce Commission deputy chair Anne Callinan said. 'Price match advertising gives the impression that customers will be able to show up and get a match for competitors' prices … we believe Noel Leeming's price promise had many limitations and conditions which weren't made obvious to customers and made any price matches difficult to obtain.' However, Noel Leeming's Bell said they were baffled by the Commerce Commission's decision to press charges. 'We firmly maintain that we have committed no offence and will vigorously defend this. 'We're perplexed by the commission's claim that price matches were difficult to obtain, when over 250,000 Kiwis saved money with our Price Promise between 2019-2021. 'Our terms and conditions are fair and presented just like other retailers, and when we can't price match, we often don't get the sale. Price matching is widely used by the industry, and it helps drive competition, and without it, Kiwis will end up paying more.' Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
Scoop
20 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Grocery Action Group Backs Consumer Price It Right Campaign
Consumers unite for transparent and fair supermarket pricing The Grocery Action Group enthusiastically supports Consumer NZ's groundbreaking initiative, the 'Price it Right' campaign. 'As advocates for fairness and transparency in the grocery sector, we recognise the urgent need to address misleading supermarket pricing practices that continue to undermine the trust of shoppers throughout Aotearoa,' Group chair Sue Chetwin said. Every year, inaccurate pricing not only erodes consumer confidence but also places unnecessary and unfair financial strain on households nationwide. These issues are of critical concern to all Kiwis, who should be able to believe there is clarity and honesty at the checkout. By championing clear and enforceable rules around supermarket pricing, the 'Price it Right' campaign offers a practical pathway for consumers to seek redress. We strongly endorse Consumer NZ's calls for: Introduction of a mandatory supermarket pricing accuracy code to ensure that all shoppers benefit from transparent, consistent pricing. Automatic compensation for consumers whenever supermarkets make pricing errors, providing immediate redress for affected shoppers. The implementation of meaningful penalties for non-compliance, creating a genuine deterrent to unfair and misleading practices. We urge the Government to act swiftly on these recommendations and to stand with consumers in demanding fairness from our nation's supermarkets, Chetwin said. The Grocery Action Group invites fellow organisations, industry stakeholders, and the public to join us in supporting the 'Price it Right' campaign and signing the petition for real legislative change. 'Together, we can ensure New Zealand's supermarkets uphold higher standards and when they don't they are quickly and severely dealt with,' she said. For further information about the campaign and how you can show your support, please visit Note: The Grocery Action Group was formed to bring down the prices of groceries for all Kiwis. Our vision is to influence government, the regulators and other parties to deliver a competitive and consumer-focused grocery sector in New Zealand. Our board is made up of consumer, industry, supplier and Māori interests experts. For more info visit
Scoop
a day ago
- Business
- Scoop
Price It Right: Consumer NZ Launches Campaign To Stop Misleading Supermarket Pricing
A new petition calls for a mandatory supermarket pricing accuracy code, automatic compensation and tougher penalties. Consumer NZ has launched a new campaign – Price it right – calling on the government to crack down on misleading supermarket pricing practices that are costing shoppers tens of millions of dollars a year across Aotearoa. The consumer watchdog is urging the introduction of a mandatory supermarket pricing accuracy code, with clear rules, meaningful penalties and automatic compensation for consumers when supermarkets get it wrong. 'We're asking the government to step in and deal with misleading supermarket pricing,' said Jon Duffy, Consumer NZ chief executive. 'Too often, shoppers are charged more at the check-out than what's shown on the shelf, or they're misled in some other way. While pricing errors may seem minor on an individual basis, they add up when multiplied across the population. This isn't OK, particularly at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills.' Recent Consumer research found that 62% of New Zealanders noticed pricing errors at the supermarket over the past year. 'This isn't just the occasional mistake – it's an ongoing systemic problem that's adding to the pain people are feeling at the check-out with food prices that are already too high,' said Duffy. Thanks to hundreds of complaints shared by consumers, Consumer filed a formal complaint with the Commerce Commission in 2023. That led to criminal charges being laid against Woolworths NZ and two Pak'nSave stores for misleading pricing. But the problem persists. 'It's already illegal for businesses to mislead consumers about prices, but the current law is not forcing supermarkets to up their game. They have had plenty of chances to fix this. The time for talk is over. It's time for stronger rules with real consequences,' said Duffy. Consumer's Price it right campaign is calling for: a mandatory supermarket pricing accuracy code with clear pricing rules automatic compensation when shoppers are overcharged – such as receiving the item free if the scanned price is higher than the shelf price, there is a special that doesn't offer a genuine saving or the unit pricing is incorrect clear disclosure of consumer rights in store and online tougher penalties and infringement notice powers, like those used in Australia, to deter misleading pricing and promotions. 'We're not asking for much – just fair and accurate pricing that consumers can trust,' said Duffy. 'It's a simple step that would make a real difference.' What you can do Consumer is asking New Zealanders to sign its petition and demand that the government take urgent action. Minister for economic growth Nicola Willis says she's considering introducing tougher penalties for supermarkets that breach the Fair Trading Act and other changes to ensure shoppers are not misled by pricing. Signing the petition will show your support for these moves. Sign the petition: Tell the government to 'price it right' 'It's time supermarkets were held to account. By signing and sharing the petition, you're helping stop misleading supermarket pricing and pushing for real change.'
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Mediawatch: Ministers' 'helpful' handouts go multimedia
A strategically placed billboard that was part of a lobbying campaign targeting energy minister Simon Watts, captured by TVNZ's Q+A. Photo: TVNZ Q+A "Dear Prime Minister: the rise in crime and antisocial behaviour since COVID 19 struck is stark and confronting. We ask that you please take urgent action to support recovery and retain our reputation as a safe city and country." That was the message of a full-page ad in the Weekend Herald placed by groups representing Auckland businesses, accusing the government of failing to act on past promises. It was almost identical to a similar plea to a previous PM four years ago. The following day the current PM was the target of another open letter advert in the Sunday papers. This one - placed by electricity retailers, users and Consumer NZ - called on him to fix "a broken energy sector". That campaign also featured on TVNZ's Q+A show the same day, and in a front-page New Zealand Herald story the next day, the Minister of Energy - the aptly named Simon Watts - acknowledged our electricity market was "not functioning as well as it should". But it's not the first time that he's been singled out by a lobbying campaign in public. In June, pro-electrification group Rewiring NZ deployed AI animation to turn him into a superhero in ads that urged the public to make it an election issue - and it used a billboard near the Beehive to make sure that he didn't miss it. TVNZ's Q+A said lobby groups like Federated Farmers and the Sensible Sentencing Trust had used the same spot for the same reason in other campaigns. But do ministers targeted by these ads even notice them? "Yes, I do. On the way to the airport, out of Parliament and down onto the quays there - it's pretty hard to not to," National's Chris Bishop told TVNZ's Whena Owen. But are campaigns singling out individual politicians in public really effective? Most ministers are also lobbied behind the scenes by the same special interest groups. Being hectored publicly as well could make them more inclined to dig in rather than give in. "Lobby groups have always taken out ads in newspapers. Now they're moving it to digital billboards which can be up longer and can be cheaper," said Dr Claire Robinson, the author of Promises, Promises: 80 years of Wooing New Zealand Voters . "They can be located at traffic lights where ministerial cars have to stop. It's probably a really good way of getting something under the nose of a cabinet minister who may not open the newspaper anymore in the morning to see it there." "If you want to lobby a minister now you've got not only print, radio and TV - and you've got your own channels, social media and even LinkedIn posts. There's a complete industry in being able to disseminate your messages, hoping that one of them is going to get through," Dr Robinson told Mediawatch . Politicians aren't shy about getting their own messages out to the media either - and have specialised staff to do it. Journalists' email inboxes are clogged with media statements from ministers and MPs hoping that their comments will make it into the media's coverage. And now they are going multimedia too. Last weekend reporters got video of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio greeting Winston Peters, along with a media statement, after an ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Malaysia, which was attended by Peters. NZ First posted that footage on Facebook on the day of the meeting - and then there was another version last Tuesday featuring Peters looking statesmanlike, with a TikTok-type soundtrack added. The same day the streaming show Herald Now ran the Rubio footage during an interview with Peters . Should media be wary of airing images hand-picked by ministers' staff? "Yes, because by using it they're essentially using party generated pictures and feeding the beast - and exacerbating the rule-breaking of political parties," Dr Robinson told Mediawatch. "Anything that is generated through party social media channels really needs to be stopped at the door. "But at the same time the media loses all perspective when a PM or foreign minister meets a US president or Secretary of State. In 2014, photos of John Key playing golf with Obama were splashed across the newspapers . . . and nobody asked who took the photos back then." Recently reporters have also received sound bites from ministers along with standard media statements. Last week, Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee announced anti-money laundering law changes to make managing property easier through family trusts. The release included a minute-long MP3 clip of her reading out some of the key points - and 'video on request'. In June her office also sent three separate sound bites about the 'Three Strikes' law coming into force. Why send selected comments rather than allow reporters to record their own in a media conference in the usual way? "Quite often we'll put out a media release, then we get all the phone calls looking for a grab. Why not give a grab ourselves?" McKee told Mediawatch . RNZ's reporters in the press gallery in Parliament told Mediawatch they wouldn't use audio supplied under those circumstances. "I believe it has been picked up by a couple of radio stations but I haven't actually tracked it myself." ACT leader David Seymour has spoken about bypassing the media because they "abuse their power to edit" and refused to allow ACT's ministers to appear on RNZ's Morning Report . He's even appealed for funds from ACT supporters to fund his own online media channels. Is McKee supplying audio comments as a substitute for interviews or media conferences at which she could be challenged or questioned by reporters? "That's not the reason. It's actually realising that our media are quite stretched - for time and for people," McKee told Mediawatch . On that issue of the family trusts and anti-money laundering laws, McKee was interviewed by RNZ news after sending out the statement and audio. "I've always made myself available to the media. Should they want a sound grab directly, I'm happy to give it. We just thought that this would help the media, especially if they do have those tight deadlines. And of course some have less staff now." "It doesn't take me long to add a couple of 10-second sound bites to the media releases we put out. And of course if it is being picked up then it is useful to some. So we'll continue to do it." McKee says she hasn't tracked which media outlets have used the supplied audio. Another minister handing out sound bites with media statements lately is Associate Minister of Transport James Meager. "Now is the perfect time to look ahead toward building a resilient maritime economy for future generations," he said in mid-June, announcing pumped-up investment in navigation services for shipping. One week later, Meager sent out three more sound bites, about a funding boost for lifesaving. Meager credits his press secretary, former Newstalk ZB journalist Blake Benny. "He came to me with the idea that if we include some audio grabs with our press releases, it makes the job of producers and radio reporters so much easier," Meager told Mediawatch . If so, it might mean not having to answer questions about contestable claims made in statements - or confront contradictions? "There's always the option for journalists who want to ring up and press on some of the details in those press releases. I'm always happy to take interviews. The only time I decline would be if it's outside my portfolio or if I literally can't do them." Few ministers ever issue statements on matters outside their portfolio - and Meager declined to say which outlets had broadcast his recorded statements. Before he became an MP, he set up an online archive of political ads - - with partner Dr Ashley Murchison, an expert who wrote a PhD about responses to political ads. Some of Nicole McKee's recent media statements said video was available on request as well. Meager doesn't offer that - yet. "But if we had the resources and that made people's lives easier then it might be something that we look into. I used to work as a press secretary and I think I wish I'd been smart enough to think of this six years ago," he told Mediawatch . But he says he and other ministers will be offering the media more multimedia stuff in future. "I'm doing a couple (of soundbites) this weekend for a couple of announcements we're making in the top of the South so hopefully they'll be picked up. In the weekend when staffing levels are lower, that might be a little bit helpful too." Dr Claire Robinson Photo: supplied "Political parties have always used new technology to try and get their messages across - even going back to Michael Joseph Savage in 1938 when he used film, which was a new technology back then," Dr Claire Robinson told Mediawatch . "I think that the politicians hope that the time-poor media will just insert (the content) into coverage. But there's something deeper going on here because they're exploiting the whopping decline in journalism employment," said Dr Robinson, who is also the current chief of Toi Mai / the Workforce Development Council, which published a development plan for journalism in 2024. "That decline is because of government-enabled inaction or policies that have seen that advertising money that used to sustain news media organisations go offshore. In the old days (they) would have more scrutiny and political parties are now exploiting that gap and creating their own media." In a recent piece for The Post , Dr Robinson said the public pays for political parties' digital media messaging - but shouldn't be paying for some of it. "The rules are really clear. You can only electioneer using public funds in the three months prior to an election campaign. The rest of the time parties are enabled to create information, but not to electioneer with social media," Dr Robinson told Mediawatch . She says the NZ First party publishing footage of Winston Peters in Malaysia as foreign minister on social media is an example of the problem. "It has their party logo and is using Peters' role in his capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs for party purposes. It doesn't say 'Vote for NZ First' but the boundaries are blurred. It is really saying our leader is a great leader because he can create amazing relationships with people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Consumer NZ on CC charging two Pak'nSave operators
Consumer New Zealand says penalties under our fair trading laws may need to be tougher to deter bad behaviour. Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy Jessica Walker spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
