Dell hit with Oz court case for misleading prices on monitors

[silversurfer]

Content source

https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/04/dell_australia_consumer_court/

Dell's Australian business is in trouble with the country's consumer watchdog for allegedly misleading buyers about the price of displays purchased as an add-on with its computers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it has initiated Federal Court proceedings against Dell Australia Pty Limited, claiming the company made "false or misleading representations" regarding the price of monitors that consumers could add to purchases of Dell computers when buying online via its website.

According to the ACCC, when a buyer selected a desktop or laptop for purchase via the Dell Australia website, they would be offered the option of adding a monitor to their purchase during the checkout process. It claims that the price for this monitor was displayed alongside a higher price covered by a strike-through line, with the difference between the two representing a significant saving for the buyer.

This is a standard sales approach; offer the customer an add-on for their purchase at a discount price. However, the ACCC alleges that the strike-through price shown did not represent the actual standalone price of the display being offered, and that in some cases the add-on price offered to buyers was higher than if the monitor had been bought separately.

This situation is said to have occurred during a period from about August 2019 through to December 16, 2021, according to the agency, which is seeking penalties, declarations, consumer redress, and costs against the company.

Dell in court case for misleading pricing of add-on displays

Watchdog claims add-ons to computer purchases appeared to be discounted but did not reflect the standalone RRP

www.theregister.com

 

[The_King]

Despicable marketing / sale tactics. I see the same nonsense on Amazon.

 

[show-Zi]

Despicable marketing / sale tactics. I see the same nonsense on Amazon.

While browsing graphics cards on Amazon, I've seen several that are priced significantly below the market price. If you take a closer look, you will find that the shipping cost is significantly higher than the market price, and overall the price is not a bargain.
I felt that there was an aspect similar to the method of phishing.

 

[silversurfer]

Dell's Australia arm has been slapped with a $10 million AUD (about $6.49 million) fine for "making false and misleading representations on its website about discount prices for add-on computer monitors," the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced today. The Australian regulator said the company sold 5,300 monitors this way.

As Ars Technica previously reported, the ACCC launched litigation against Dell Australia in November. In June, the Australian Federal Court declared that Dell Australia made shoppers believe monitors would be cheaper if bought as an add-on item.

A Dell spokesperson told Ars Technica today that Dell is also paying customers interest and "taking steps to improve our pricing processes to ensure this sort of error does not happen again." Dell didn't specify its exact steps, but in June, Australia's Federal Court ordered Dell Australia to hire an "independent compliance professional."

A Dell spokesperson also told Ars: "We are pleased that this is now behind us, and our focus can return to serving our Australian customers. As we acknowledged in November 2022 when the ACCC commenced these proceedings, due to an error in Dell's pricing processes, there was incorrect information displayed on our website about the pricing and savings associated with certain monitors."

Dell fined $6.5M after admitting it made overpriced monitors look discounted

Dell Australia is paying for something many of its peers are guilty of.

arstechnica.com