[ad_1]
The Commerce Commission has given Noel Leeming an official warning for selling products that were not in stock.
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
The Commission investigated Noel Leeming Group after receiving more than 100 consumer complaints.
The complaints referred to consumers not receiving their purchases within the delivery time stipulated by Noel Leeming, customers were unable to contact the company to discuss delays, and not receiving refunds for delays when requested.
The Commission said, in its view, that Noel Leeming likely violated the Fair Trade Act by accepting payment for 37 Kindle products from Amazon in early April, when he had no remaining stock to fulfill these orders.
Noel Leeming withdrew this product from sale on April 6, then informed his clients of the situation and offered a refund on April 16.
He also said that Noel Leeming likely violated the Fair Trade Act on June 26 and July 2 by announcing a DJI Ronin-SC control cable with a one to two week lead time for expected delivery, despite having an order. Existing expired and not settling with your provider why there was a delay.
Anna Rawlings, chair of the commission, said that Noel Leeming Group faced unprecedented consumer demand and that delivery services were significantly affected at this time.
“It should have taken a more cautious approach in the representations it made about product availability and lead times,” he said.
“We have issued a warning to Noel Leeming for accepting payments for products that were not in stock to fulfill orders that were taken.
“In addition, it announced a product with a delivery time of one to two weeks, but it already had some backorders and had not taken any steps to ensure that it could meet that delivery time.”
Rawlings said the company relied on a normal supply chain.
“These issues as a result of Covid … so the supply chains had been disrupted and the commission found that Noel Leeming had not taken adequate steps to investigate that and just to make sure that promises about delivery times could comply … should, in our opinion, have taken a more cautious approach. “
The Commission said that Noel Leeming Group fully cooperated with its investigation and informed it that it has since changed its approach to delivery representations.
The commission had several complaints about Noel Leeming and decided to investigate only a selection of them, Rawlings said.
It had also received a number of complaints stemming from issues due to Covid-19 and some investigations into those issues were still ongoing.
The commission does not press charges against Noel Leeming.
Rawlings said the company had a good track record, but if problems arose in the future, the problem would be taken into account when considering sanctions.
