The Commerce Commission is warning retailers not to use small
print to hide the truth about promotions after Borders
recently was caught out for the practice.
Any additions made in the small print should not materially
alter the terms of any offer.
"If the overall impression given by a promotion or
advertisement is misleading, it risks breaching the Fair
Trading Act no matter what information is provided in the
fine print," commission fair trading manager Greg Allan said.
Borders was issued a warning following a promotion run in
November and December which claimed customers would "receive
$20 in vouchers for every $75 you spend at Borders until
Christmas".
The deal enticed a number of customers who hadn't noticed the
small print which specified that only one $10 voucher could
be redeemed in January and a second in February.
"The commission received complaints from consumers saying
that they felt misled as they had spent the required amount
believing they could get a $20 discount for one purchase," Mr
Allan said.
"We are pleased that Borders will honour the vouchers for a
$20 discount for one purchase and they will continue to
honour the vouchers beyond (February)."
He said it was common marketing practice for businesses to
run voucher promotions and, while no further action would be
taken, the warning issued to Borders should be noted by other
sellers.
