Consumer Class action – Now targeting Coles and Woolworths
With court decisions nearing in the legal action by the ACCC against Coles and Woolworths for their misleading ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions, “angry customers are lining up” to recover compensation from the two grocery giants, according to a leading compensation lawyer.
Carter Capner Law director Peter Carter said his firm will sue both grocery giants on behalf of customers following the determination of the ACCC lawsuits.
However his firm’s case – unlike the ACCC action - will not be confined to losses associated with the products that were temporarily raised by 15 per cent for a short period before being reduced for the promotions.
“We believe the case is much larger than this, and the compensation also should be much higher, because the supermarkets gained more overall business directly due to these campaigns,” he said.
“Shoppers were lured to their outlets by the deceptive promotion, to open their wallets for their weekly shop.
“They must be held to account for the entirety of the super profits they reaped, not just the gains on the goods they chose to headline the campaign.”
The ACCC case against Coles closed in February and its prosecution of Woolworths is currently before the Federal Court in Melbourne.
In one example of the actions that occurred between September 2021 and May 2023, Woolworths allegedly increased the price of Oreo Family Pack from $3.50 to $5.00 for just 22 days, then placed it back on a “Prices Dropped” promotion at $4.50 – 29 per cent higher than the original price.
Mr Carter, a former national president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance and director of the Civil Justice Foundation of Australia, said more than 30,000 consumers have now registered with Carter Capner Law for compensation, and urged others to join the action.
“Our estimates suggest that households could claim between $2,000 and $5,000, depending on the amount spent and the impact of the deceptive pricing,” he said.
He confirmed the claim would not be filed until after the delivery of the judgement in the ACCC prosecutions, to keep the legal overhead of the class action to the very minimum.
“Our objective is to demonstrate the power consumer litigation can deliver to counter egregious corporate conduct by delivering the maximum amount of potential compensation to Coles and Woolworths customers.”
Consumers who shopped at Coles and Woolworths during the relevant dates can register online at https://woolworthscolesclassaction.com.au.
