Sydney: The Federal Courtroom in Australia on Tuesday ordered Google-owned wearable model Fitbit to pay $11 million after the corporate admitted making false, deceptive, or misleading representations to 58 customers about their shopper assure rights to a refund or a alternative after they claimed their machine was defective.
Fitbit admitted that its customer support employees advised 40 customers (between about November 2020 and February 2022) they didn’t have a proper to a alternative product as a result of Fitbit’s two-year “guarantee interval” had expired.
Of these 40 customers, 39 had contacted Fitbit about an issue with a alternative product, and Fitbit represented that the guarantee interval was that of the unique machine, which had expired, in line with the Australian Competitors and Shopper Fee (ACCC).
“On this case, customers could have incurred extra expense and inconvenience paying for repairs or alternative merchandise as a result of they have been advised false and deceptive details about their shopper assure rights,” Appearing ACCC Chair Catriona Lowe mentioned.
Fitbit additionally admitted that its employees advised 18 different customers (between about Might 2020 and February 2022) they didn’t have a proper to a refund until they returned the defective product “inside 45 days of buy”.
“All merchandise offered to customers include a assure that items are of acceptable high quality, and retailers should present a treatment for defective items if this assure has not been met, which incorporates restore, alternative or refund, relying on the circumstances,” Lowe added.
Fitbit apologised for its conduct and the Federal Courtroom recognised that the compliance measures applied underneath a 2018 court-enforceable enterprise by Fitbit (Australia) Pty Ltd didn’t stop the contraventions.
