Fantastic Furniture - failure to comply with labelling standard - $300,000

Those little Styrofoam balls in your beanbag are comfy but, according to the ACCC, deadlier than a rattle snake. Not so bad as to be illegal, but they can't be sold without a label warning about the choking hazard.

Fantastic Furniture, along with Spotlight and Smash Enterprises, have been supplying bean bag covers without the required warning label.

This was particularly bad for Fantastic Furniture because, after supplying defective bunk beds back in 2008, it had promised the ACCC it would be very very good for the next 3 years.

That was all just a beanbag too far, and resulted in a $300,000 fine. Not so fantastic.

"Yellow Pages" directory scam - $2.7 million

The Federal Court has slammed two overseas companies with a whopping $2.7 million fine for masquerading as Sensis Pty Ltd Yellow Pages®; you know, the one where your fingers and not your feet do the walking.

Yellow Page Marketing BV and Yellow Publishing Limited sent thousands of Australian businesses misleading faxes and invoices in an attempt to obtain subscriptions to their online business directories. The faxes used the words 'Yellow Page' and contained a 'Walking Fingers' logo. Pretty obvious. Pretty unlikely they'll be paying up either.

Japan Airlines - price fixing - $5.5 million

A few years back, a large number of international airlines got caught price fixing on their cargo flights. How embarrassment. The ACCC is still feeding off the remains of the slaughter.

The Federal Court has just ordered Japan Airlines to pay a $5.5 million penalty for its part in the wink and nod pricing agreements. Qantas and British Airways copped $20 million and $5 million penalties respectively back in 2008 from the same cartel bust. Prosecutions against Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Korean Airlines, Air New Zealand and Thai Airways continue.

We're advocating a boycott of the warm hand towels and complimentary peanuts in disgust.

MSY Technology - consumer warranty representations - $203,500

If you buy a computer, you are entitled to assume that it is of acceptable quality and fit for its purpose. If the computer is neither of these things or is faulty, you have the right to a refund. This is your statutory right, no matter what your contract says.

MSY Technology, which sells computers and other electronic goods, tried a different tack. It variously told customers they didn't have any statutory rights, or, if they did, they were about as effective as an inflatable dartboard. It's a common problem, because punters generally are easily confused about the difference between manufacturers' warranties and statutory warranties. We're confused too, it's all a bit messy. But the ACCC has been cracking down hard on this issue of late.

Consequently, MSY Technology got fined $203,500 and had to run corrective advertising to put its customers right.

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