The Federal Court has found that an e-commerce marketing company that advertised products as being discounted when they had never been offered at the full price operated in a misleading and deceptive manner.

The action bought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against StoresOnline is the same complaint that the ACCC laid against online web site Kogan who were selling flat panel TV’s at a discounted price without first offering them at the full price.

The judgment represents a successful conclusion to the second lengthy proceeding taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against StoresOnline.  In each case it was claimed that there was misleading and deceptive conduct in the promotion and sale of StoresOnline home business e-commerce software packages.  The packages were promoted through a series of seminars, primarily to those wishing to set up small businesses online.

Justice Edmonds made orders by way of declarations that StoresOnline, since October 2006, had engaged in false and misleading conduct in breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974 in relation to the promotion and sale of its software packages.

StoresOnline was found to have breached theTrade Practices Act 1974 at workshops and seminars when they their software for sale at a discount.

The Cout heard that StoresOnline offered packages for sale to workshop attendees at a particular offer price for 90-days from the date of the workshop when in reality they  had no such intention to offer a discount.

The ACCC claimed that at workshops and seminars StoresOnline represented that the difference between the full price and the 90-day offer price for StoresOnline packages was the amount a consumer could save by attending a Stores Online workshop and purchasing the packages when that level of saving did not exist.

The court ordered that StoresOnline pay the ACCC’s costs.

See store at: http://www.storesonline.com/