As part of a settlement with the Commerce Commission, the Warehouse is recalling "Cric Meccanico" and "Pagoda" jacks.

Commission Deputy Chairman Peter Allport said the jacks are being recalled because they cannot lift the 1.5 tons stated on the Cric packaging nor the 1 ton stated on the Pagoda packaging.

The Warehouse confirmed that the jacks are identical, apart from their brand names, and are made in China to German specifications. About 300 of the 400 imported have been sold.

Mr Allport said an engineering tutor at a polytechnic asked students to test the jacks as a project. They found the jacks failed when lifting 886kg.

They gave their results to the Commission, which then had the jacks tested by an independent laboratory.

The tests showed that the lower arm of the jack buckles when it is used to lift 600kg. Pins in the jack handles bent when an attempt was made to lift 250kg. Someone wanting to raise more than 250kg would have to use another handle.

A medium sized car weighs about 1.3 tons.

The Warehouse has undertaken to recall the jacks and to report to the Commission the results of the recall.

Customers who have any queries about the recall should contact their nearest Warehouse store or contact the company's Auckland support centre on (09) 443 2631.

Mr Allport said car jacks are not covered by a product safety standard made mandatory by the Fair Trading Act. However, the Act prohibits false claims about the performance characteristics of goods.

"We became involved because the jacks' packaging falsely claimed they could lift far heavier weights than was true," Mr Allport said.

Media contact: Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa

Phone work (04) 498 0920, home (04) 479 1432

Background

The Fair Trading Act prohibits:

· misleading and deceptive conduct

· a list of false or misleading representations

· a list of unfair practices

It makes mandatory consumer information standards for:

· country of origin labelling of clothing and footwear

· care labelling of clothing and textiles

· fibre content labelling of clothing and textiles

It makes mandatory product safety standards for:

· bicycles

· toys for children aged up to three

· children's night clothes