{"id":671023,"date":"2026-05-14T19:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671023\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T19:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:36:23","slug":"coles-shoppers-in-line-for-1300-refunds-as-supermarket-found-guilty-in-court-ruling-significant-sums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671023\/","title":{"rendered":"Coles shoppers in line for $1,300 refunds as supermarket found guilty in court ruling: ‘Significant sums’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coles shoppers could be in line for up to $1,300 in class-action compensation payouts<\/a> after the Federal Court found the supermarket guilty of misleading shoppers on discount prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coles engaged in \u201cmisleading\u201d marketing through its Down Down campaign<\/a>, offering discounts that were not genuine, a judge has ruled.<\/p>\n

Judge Michael O\u2019Bryan found in favour of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission\u2019s (ACCC) case against the major supermarket chain in the Federal Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The case against Coles was heard in February and will return to court on June 10. A similar federal court case of the ACCC taking action against Woolworths<\/a>\u2019 pricing concluded last month, with the judgment still pending<\/p>\n

Sydney legal firm GMP Law plans to seek refunds for affected consumers and recover the difference between the discounted and original, undiscounted prices through a class action that has over 50,000 participants.<\/p>\n

Gerard Malouf, Chairperson of GMP Law, told Yahoo News that he welcomes today’s outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a wonderful result for members and vindication for the everyday Australian who deserves clarity and honesty in pricing of products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we\u2019ll have a situation where we’ll be able to refund group members significant sums of money depending on their purchases over the period in question.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the promotions were \u201cclearly\u201d misleading, arguing there \u201cwasn’t clarity and transparency about the manner and approach undertaken by these major food market groups\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a win for supermarket patrons, but a significant win for all consumers in Australia in the future, as clear and unequivocally transparent pricing practices must be maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n

245 household products at centre of ACCC\u2019s case<\/p>\n

The case against Coles centred on price fluctuations of 245 common household products placed on Coles\u2019 Down Down promotions program<\/a> between February 2022 and May 2023.<\/p>\n

The ACCC alleged Coles briefly spiked the prices of products for a typical period of four weeks before placing them on promotion at higher, or equal to, a price that they had been.<\/p>\n

A sample selection of 14 products was examined in detail during the court case, with Justice O\u2019Bryan ruling 13 had been deceptively marketed.<\/p>\n

The judge found Coles\u2019 price increases were not \u201cartificially high\u201d and reflected the supplier price changes during a period of high inflation.<\/p>\n

But he concluded Coles\u2019 decision to increase prices for a short period before placing them on the Down Down tickets was misleading.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story about your local supermarket? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Gerard<\/p>\n

50,000 Australians are part of a class action led by Gerard Malouf against the supermarket. Source: GMP Law\/Getty<\/p>\n

Court ruling won’t ‘automatically return money’ to shoppers<\/p>\n

Malouf previously explained that the court may impose civil fines or penalties in light of the Federal Court\u2019s decision, as well as corrective or other orders on the supermarket chain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While regulatory penalties serve a purpose, they do not “automatically return money to the people who paid inflated prices”.<\/p>\n

A ruling focuses on whether the law was contravened and will not result in refunds directly to shoppers, he explained.<\/p>\n

“Civil penalties are paid to the government and are intended to deter misconduct, and they do not automatically result in money being returned to affected shoppers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

50,000 shoppers registered for class action<\/p>\n

The class action against Coles is where customers may receive refunds from the supermarket.<\/p>\n

Proceedings, which were paused until the ACCC judgement was handed down, will now move forward for the class action of over 50,000 Aussies against the supermarket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

GMP Law said it will provide further updates on the next steps in the compensation case in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

with Newswire<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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