Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been fined a combined $55million by the corporate regulator over a misleading advertising campaign.
It’s the largest penalty ever issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to a company for misleading conduct.
On Tuesday, ASIC found the companies promoted a 60-month interest-free payment scheme that required customers to take out credit cards, while masking the fact they were liable to pay additional fees.
The scheme ran between January 2020 and August 2021.
Harvey Norman was ordered to pay $35million of the total penalty, with the remaining $20million to be paid by credit card company Latitude Financial.
They were also issued a notice to immediately publish corrected advertising on their websites for 90 days.
Corporate regulator chair, Sarah Court, said the penalty was a ‘strong warning to the market’ that businesses must give customers a ‘clear and accurate’ picture of the products they are promoting.
‘Consumers were entitled to know that this offer involved more than simply paying for their purchase in 60 instalments,’ Ms Court said in a statement on Tuesday.
‘The advertising encouraged consumers into an ongoing credit arrangement that carried additional costs and obligations.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial for comment.
More to come.
Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been fined a combined $55million by the corporate regulator over a misleading advertising campaign (file image)
