$1,385 penalties for false country of origin claim
Published27 Mar 1995
A Christchurch company, Staircase Bags and Accessories Limited, and one of its directors, Dorothy Francis, has to pay fines and costs totalling $1,385 for claiming Malaysian-made bags were made in Italy.
In the Christchurch District Court today they pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act by making false claims about the bags' country of origin.
They were prosecuted by the Commerce Commission.
Each zip on the bags had a tag which said "made in Italy".
A customer bought one of the bags after being assured by a sales assistant that the bags were Italian. Two months later the bag lost rivets and its colour.
When the customer asked for compensation from the company it admitted the bags were Malaysian. When later interviewed by Commission staff, company directors said they had known the bags were Malaysian.
On another occasion Commission staff asked about the country of origin of a bag and Ms Francis told them it was Italian.
Subsequent checks showed the bag was made in Malaysia and Ms Francis admitted having known that.
Judge Hattaway said he kept the small size of the company in mind when he imposed penalties.
The company was fined $400 on one charge, $200 on the other and court costs $95 on each. Ms Francis was fined $400, court costs $95. Payment of $100 solicitor's fees was also ordered.
Commission Chairman Alan Bollard said while the penalties in this case were small compared to the $100,000 maximum under the Fair Trading Act, no company wants to face the fines, legal expenses and bad publicity that come with a conviction.
