Media releases
Media releases from the Commerce Commission.
Statement of Unresolved Issues released for proposed Foodstuffs merger
The Commerce Commission has published a statement of unresolved issues relating to an application from Foodstuffs North Island Limited and Foodstuffs South Island Limited seeking clearance to merge.
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ComCom hits the gas on car loans with third lender in Court
The Commerce Commission is progressing criminal proceedings in the District Court against El Cheapo Cars (trading as Ezybid Finance) in its third action in the car finance sector this year – alleging borrowers were not provided key information about their loans.
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Penalties imposed in relation to longstanding commercial cleaning cartel
The Christchurch High Court has imposed penalties against cleaning company Canterbury Industrial Scrubbing Limited (CI Scrubbing) for longstanding cartel agreements with a competitor following a Commerce Commission investigation.
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Commerce Commission issues draft determination on Payments New Zealand’s application to further develop its open banking framework
The Commerce Commission (Commission) has reached a preliminary view that it should grant conditional authorisation to Payments NZ Limited (Payments NZ) to work with current and future API providers (ie, banks) and third parties (eg, fintechs) to develop and apply a partnering framework relating to the provision of API services by API providers to third parties (the Proposed Arrangement).
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Pyramid scheme promoter ordered to pay $5.9m in record Fair Trading Act case
Shelly Cullen has been ordered by the Auckland District Court to pay $5.9m for her promotion of the pyramid scheme ‘Lion’s Share.’ This is a combination of a $600,000 fine - the largest ever criminal fine issued to an individual under the Fair Trading Act - and an order to pay over $5.3m to reflect the value of the commercial gain she made through the scheme.
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ComCom clocks 5G wireless speeds for the first time
The Commerce Commission has released its latest broadband monitoring report which shows, for the first time, performance results for Spark’s 5G wireless broadband service.
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Commission to issue Statement of Unresolved Issues on proposed Foodstuffs merger
The Commerce Commission has decided to issue a Statement of Unresolved Issues for the application from Foodstuffs North Island Limited and Foodstuffs South Island Limited seeking clearance to merge.
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ComCom files proceedings against Foodstuffs North Island for blocking rivals
The Commerce Commission has filed proceedings in the Wellington High Court against Foodstuffs North Island, alleging that anti-competitive land covenants were lodged by the supermarket operator with the purpose of blocking competitors from opening rival supermarkets at particular sites and developing existing ones at several locations across the lower North Island.
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Kiwibank faces criminal charges following issues that caused over $7m in overcharges
The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against Kiwibank Limited (Kiwibank), alleging systemic breaches of the Fair Trading Act. The breaches relate to issues that resulted in more than $7 million being incorrectly charged to over 36,000 customers for fees and interest rates in relation to home loans, credit cards and overdrafts, over a period of several years.
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Delay in dropping petrol prices costing Kiwi motorists $15m a year at the pump
The Commerce Commission’s latest analysis of fuel monitoring data shows retailers are quick to put fuel prices up in response to increased costs, but slower to bring prices down when global oil prices fall or exchange rate changes reduce costs.
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