The parent company of some of Australia’s most recognisable fashion stores has been fined more than $25m for consumer law breaches, including non-delivery of thousands of items purchased online.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said former fashion retailer Mosaic Brands Limited, the owner of well-known brands including Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Rockmans, Millers, Autograph, Beme, Crossroads and W. Lane, had been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $25.05 million in penalties, relating to the way it handled almost 740,000 online orders.
Ms Lowe said Mosaic Brands, which is now in liquidation, was found to have breached consumer law, including accepting payment, but failing to deliver items to consumers within a reasonable time.
She said the Court found Mosaic Brands, over a 6-month period, failed to deliver 739,114 items across its nine brands within the delivery times specified on its websites, or a reasonable time.
“Of these items, 4213 were not delivered at all.”
Ms Lowe said Mosaic Brands was found to have wrongfully accepted payment from consumers and engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
“Delivery times matter and it is unacceptable to mislead consumers about this aspect of a sale. A large number of Australians – and close to a quarter of online goods ordered from the Mosaic Group were affected by it,” she said.
“Our investigation revealed that more than half of the items in question were dispatched from Mosaic Brands’ warehouses 30 or more days after the order date, and about one-third were dispatched 40 or more days after the order date.”
“One person who reported to us experienced the dual disappointment of never receiving the goods they’d paid for and then having to wait six months for a refund.”
