Consumer NZ: TV Shop customers beware

Tāmaki Makaurau - Consumer NZ is urging potential customers to beware following a court trial of two TV Shop products.

The advertising may be convincing, with freebies on offer and glowing customer reviews, but the watchdog’s trial found the TV Shop products undeserving of the hype.

TV Shop’s iTread is a treadmill for walking or jogging. The product doesn’t have an advertised price, but it is available with a free Air Roaster Pro on a 30-day, hassle-free, money-back guarantee.

Consumer NZ called the TV Shop to determine the price of the product. The iTread costs between $1990 and $3115, depending on where the customer is at in the order or return process and how desperate the TV Shop is to secure the customer’s money.

The advertising claims it’s suitable for all ages and mobility levels, and good for the whole family, but the instruction manual says users should be over 18 and the item is not suitable for children and frail elderly people.

Consumer NZ found the return process to be far from hassle-free. The Commerce Commission has filed charges against the TV Shop for breaching the Fair Trading Act.

The commission alleges TV Shop breached the act by misleading consumers about the popularity of goods including by staff posting positive and omitting negative reviews and about the remedies available when something went wrong.

It also alleges TV Shop misled consumers when it offered bonus or free goods that were provided with the purchase anyway.

The commission's decision to prosecute the TV Shop sends a strong message to retailers that misleading New Zealanders will not be tolerated.

The Commerce Commission has filed 13 representative charges against The TV Shop, that focus on marketing and promotional practices it believes are likely to mislead Kiwi consumers.

Commerce Commission’s fair trading general manager Vanessa Horne says the case involves three different kinds of representations made to consumers which the Commission alleges were misleading.

It should emphasise for businesses the importance of making sure that all promotional and marketing activities are accurate, unambiguous and not misleading.”

The Commission alleges that The TV Shop breached the Fair Trading Act by:

•            misleading consumers about the popularity of goods when staff members posted reviews on various online review platforms about products without disclosing their affiliation to the business and removed some low-rating reviews on its own website

•            misleading consumers about remedies available to them if something went wrong with their products by implying to consumers that they did not have any other rights to refunds or remedies outside of its own 30-day money back guarantee scheme or risk-free trial when consumers wanted to return products because they believed they were faulty or mis-advertised. In fact, consumers may have had rights and remedies available to them under the Consumer Guarantees Act 

•            misleading consumers about the nature of products sold when it advertised promotions for its Air Roaster Pro, offering an accessory pack variously as free or a bonus and on a special offer when the Air Roaster Pro was never offered for sale without the accessory pack and the product was sold as a special offer continuously between 2018 and 2021.