Dell fined $6.5 mn for misleading customers on discounts for monitors

Sydney: Consumer electronics major Dell's Australia arm has been slapped with an AUD10 million (nearly $6.49 million) fine for selling overpriced monitors at discounted prices.

The Federal Court ordered that Dell Australia Pvt Ltd pay AUD10 million for "making false and misleading representations on its website about discount prices for add-on computer monitors”.

In enforcement proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Dell Australia admitted that it had misled customers about the price of a selection of monitors available to ‘bundle’ with a purchase of a desktop, laptop or notebook.

The add-on monitors were often advertised with a higher ‘strikethrough’ price, indicating a significant saving if purchased with other computer products, the ACCC said in a statement late on Monday.

In many cases, consumers paid more than if they had purchased the monitor as a standalone product.

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More than 5,300 monitors were sold to consumers with overstated discounts, the regulator informed.

Dell Australia also admitted that it misled customers about the discounted price of the add-on monitors with various statements including “Total Savings”, “Includes x per cent off”, “Discounted Price” and “Get the best price for popular accessories when purchased with this product”.

“This outcome sends a strong message to businesses that making false representations about prices or inflating discounts is a serious breach of consumer law and will attract substantial penalties,” said ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver.

“It is important that businesses are careful when advertising discount pricing to ensure they do not mislead consumers about the savings on offer,” Carver added.

Earlier this year, the court ordered Dell Australia to offer refunds and issue corrective notices to every affected consumer, and review its compliance program.

Dell Australia was also ordered to pay a contribution to the ACCC’s costs.

A Dell spokesperson told Ars Technica that the company is "taking steps to improve our pricing processes to ensure this sort of error does not happen again".

“We are pleased that this is now behind us, and our focus can return to serving our Australian customers,” the spokesperson added.

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