Dell fined $10 million for misleading consumers by “inflating discounts” on monitors

The Federal Court has ordered that Dell Australia pay $10 million for misleading consumers about the discount prices of its add-on computer monitors, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported.

Dell Australia admitted during the enforcement proceedings with the ACCC that it had overstated the discount prices of some monitors available in bundle purchases.

The monitors were advertised with a higher ‘strikethrough’ price, resulting in consumers paying more than if they had purchased the monitor as a standalone product in many cases.

More than 5300 monitors were sold to consumers with overstated discounts.

“This outcome sends a strong message to businesses that making false representations about prices or inflating discounts is a serious breach of consumer law and will attract substantial penalties,” said ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver.

“We took this action against Dell Australia because consumers rely on accurate information about prices and discounts to make purchasing decisions.”

The company was previously ordered to offer refunds and issue corrective notices to affected consumers, as well as to pay a contribution to the ACCC’s costs.

This article was first published by Inside Retail.