For its second breach of a product safety standard in less than a year, Deka New Zealand Limited has been fined $10,000 after admitted selling a dangerous bicycle in the North Shore District Court today.
The Commerce Commission received a complaint from a customer whose daughter crashed her bicycle after a pedal fell off.
Commission Chairman Dr Alan Bollard said that following the complaint an investigator bought a women's 15 speed Avenger bicycle from Deka at Glenfield Shopping Mall in Auckland.
When the store manager was told the bicycle would be tested, he looked at it, tested the handlebars, which he said were loose, and provided an owners manual. He made no other checks.
A visual check at a laboratory showed that as well as the handlebars being loose, a nut was missing from a pedal and the axle nuts did not comply with the manufacturer's manual. Tests showed that the front and back brakes did not work and the rear wheel was buckled.
Deka bought the bicycles partially assembled. Its staff who assembled the bicycles read instructions and watched a video provided by the importer. They received no other training and had no experience in assembling bicycles.
No checks were made to ensure the bicycles were correctly assembled and met the safety standard.
In October last year Deka was fined $4,000 for selling sleep suits that did not meet the safety standard for children's nightclothes.
Dr Bollard said product safety standards exist to protect customers, or more usually their children, when they buy products they cannot easily test themselves.
"When you buy a new road bicycle you have to assume it is safe because most people cannot test it themselves. You cannot let the test be whatever happens when your child rides the bicycle on the road.
"Bicycles which do not meet the safety standard are dangerous.
"We have previously warned Deka about safety standards and have prosecuted it for a breach of the children's night clothes safety standard.
"Businesses must be aware it is their responsibility to prevent unsafe goods being sold. If they do not, and especially if they ignore warnings, we will prosecute them."
Media contact:Manager Fair Trading, Keith Manch
Phone work (04) 498 0980, home (04) 479 7105
Communications Officer, Vincent Cholewa
Phone work (04) 498 0920, home (04) 479 1432
Background
The law
The Commerce Commission enforces the Commerce Act and the Fair Trading Act.
There are three product safety standards made compulsory by the Fair Trading Act They are for:
bicycles intended for road use
fire safety of children's night clothes
toys for children aged up to three years (to prevent choking)
Other recent action by the Commission includes:
a company was fined $20,000 for two charges of selling unsafe bicycles
a company was fined $10,555 for selling dangerous rattles
a company was fined $6,500 for selling children's nightclothes which did not meet the product safety standard
a company was fined $4,000 for selling children's nightclothes with no fire danger warning labels
more than 20,000 garments were recalled because they failed fire safety standards for children's nightclothes
a chain of family restaurants entered a settlement with the Commission after giving away unsafe toys
a toy store, part of a franchise chain, entered a settlement with the Commission after selling an unsafe toy
Education
The Commission has also put considerable effort into educating business people about the safety standards. As well as publicity, it has held seminars, visited towns where it has no office, provided speakers for conferences and has worked in particular with nation-wide traders. It also publishes a newsletter and a wide range of free pamphlets about the Acts it enforces.
