Look Sharp has been fined $292,500 for making misleading representations about product prices and consumers’ rights.

According to the Commerce Commission, the company had “frequent and widespread” pricing errors, resulting in customers paying up to 33 per cent more than the advertised shelf price.

By late 2022, Look Sharp started to display signs in a number of stores that stated there may be discrepancies between label prices and actual prices. 

“Businesses must get pricing right,” Commerce Commission GM for Competition, Fair Trading, and Credit Vanessa Horne stressed. “Incorrect pricing has financial impacts and can lead to consumers feeling pressured at the check-out, which can cause stress, frustration, and loss of confidence.”

Between January 2021 and August 2023, the company also made representations about customers’ right to refunds and exchanges for faulty products, which contradicted the Consumer Guarantees Act.

These representations restricted the timeframe for returns on faulty products to seven days and prohibited refunds and exchanges for specific product categories. 

“Look Sharp is a large trader, with 20 different stores and a revenue of up to $44 million a year. These breaches ultimately originated in Look Sharp’s head office and reflected a major gap in processes,” Horne continued.

Despite consumer complaints, the company only took steps to improve its compliance systems after the Commerce Commission intervened, she added.