australian watchdog sues allegedly misusing card

2018 can attract penalties as high as A$1.1 million. 2018 can attract a fine of up to A$10 million ($7 million), triple the benefit of the conduct or as much as 10% of annual turnover.īreaches prior to 1 Sept. The ACCC alleges law breaches occurred in more than 300 advertisements. “Samsung’s advertisements, we believe, denied consumers an informed choice and gave Samsung an unfair competitive advantage.”

“Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn’t be to attract customers,” Sims said. The regulator also said Samsung’s advice to some Galaxy model users that the phones were not suitable for beach or pool use suggested the firm considered water could cause damage. Some consumers damaged their phones when exposing them to water and Samsung had refused to honor warranty claims, the ACCC said in the lawsuit, though Samsung said it complied with all of its warranty obligations under Australian law. But customers online continued reporting problems, forum comments show. The company attributed that to a manufacturing defect, affecting a small number of phones, which it soon fixed. magazine Consumer Reports said the Galaxy S7 phone – which appears dunked in a fish tank in commercials – had failed an immersion test. Samsung’s water resistance claims came under heavy scrutiny as early as 2016 when influential U.S. It is due to announce preliminary quarterly earnings on Friday, when it is widely expected to flag a profit plunge due to falls in chip prices. The South Korean electronics giant has spent heavily on advertising to rebuild public faith in its premium smartphones following the costly recall of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 devices in 2016. Samsung said it stood by its advertising, complied with Australian law and would defend the case. “The ACCC alleges Samsung’s advertisements falsely and misleadingly represented Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or for exposure to, all types of water … when this was not the case,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement on Thursday. It centers on more than 300 advertisements in which Samsung showed its Galaxy phones being used at the bottom of swimming pools and in the ocean.

The case is the first filed by a major regulator and could result in multi-million dollar fines.

Australian watchdog sues allegedly misusing card