Photo: Unsplash
A TV advertising company has been caught out for lying to consumers and leaving fake reviews on its website.
The Commerce Commission says Brand Developer Limited (BDL), which trades as The TV Shop, has been convicted of 13 charges for breaches of the Fair Trading Act over a period of nearly four years.
The court’s judgement is yet to be released to media.
The Commerce Commission said the company misled customers about free or bonus items for a product.
Staff also posted reviews on its website without disclosing their connection to the company, while at the same time removing some low rating reviews.
“The law is very clear – businesses must not mislead consumers through reviews that are not what they seem,” Commerce Commission Deputy Chair Anne Callinan said.
“When people are looking to buy a product, they will often read online reviews to help them make an informed decision. Consumers should be able to trust that the reviews posted are genuine,” Callinan added.
The court also found The TV Shop denied customers their rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act if something went wrong with a product they had purchased.
Judge Sellars KC said the relevance of a number of staff reviews, identified by the Commission during the case, was “to demonstrate that the posting of undisclosed staff reviews was not an anomaly but the result of a concerted effort by BDL”.
Judge Sellars KC also accepted an expert witnesses’ opinion that “BDL’s review omission systematically lowered the availability of negative information about its products to consumers”.
Sellars also pointed to a to a “pattern of BDL employees representing to aggrieved customers that its terms and conditions and company policies take precedence over New Zealand consumer law”.
The company will be sentenced next year.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.