Mobile trader, Bestdeals 4 You Limited (Bestdeals) today pleaded guilty to 19 charges brought by the Commerce Commission relating to the layby sales agreements and consumer credit contracts it offered customers.

The charges, filed in the Auckland District Court, concern breaches of the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) and the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA). It is the ninth mobile trader, commonly referred to as a truck shop, to be prosecuted by the Commission in 2016.

Bestdeals operates its mobile trading business by selling door-to-door in Auckland, Whangarei and Hastings under the name Easylayby. It also operates a physical store in South Auckland, using the name Super Mobile, which offers layby sales.

Bestdeals failed to comply with the disclosure requirements for layby sale agreements under the FTA. In particular, the Commission says Bestdeals failed to provide its customers with a copy of the terms and conditions when they entered into a layby sales agreement.

It breached the CCCFA by failing to disclose key information. Bestdeals did not give consumers an accurate statement of their right to cancel the contract, their right to apply for relief from unforeseen hardship, or the details of the number of payments they had to make.

As this matter is before the Court, the Commission is unable to comment further until Bestdeals is sentenced on 16 December 2016.

Background

Commission’s mobile trader project

The Commerce Commission has prosecuted nine mobile traders this year, including Bestdeals 4 You Limited. The other mobile traders are Ace Marketing Limited, Smart Shop Limited, Goodring Company Limited, Betterlife Corporation Limited, Flexi Buy Limited, Macful International Limited, Zee Shop Limited and Sales Concepts Limited. We also have 13 open investigations into mobile traders.

The District Court has imposed fines of almost $510,000 on the five mobile traders sentenced so far this year.

In August 2015, the Commission published its mobile trader report after a year-long investigation into the industry. It found that 31 of the 32 mobile traders identified did not comply with all of their obligations under the FTA and CCCF Act. We developed a strategy to address these issues and the Commission has been taking action against traders that have continued to break the law.

You can see the full Commerce Commission Mobile Trader 2014/15 Report and our press release highlighting the report on our website.