Pandora Jewelry Pty Limited

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Pandora Jewelry Pty Ltd (Pandora) in relation to claims that:

1. Pandora staff made statements to consumers to the effect that Pandora does not provide refunds and Pandora’s Warranty Against Defects overrides the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) consumer guarantees provisions; and
2. Pandora’s online store website failed to adequately inform consumers as to their rights as required by section 102 of the ACL and regulation 90 of the Competition and Consumer Regulations 2010 (Cth) (CCR).

Pandora acknowledges that it may have misled consumers about their rights under the ACL in connection with the Consumer Guarantees. Pandora also acknowledged that in these circumstances Pandora is likely to have made false or misleading representations concerning the existence, exclusion or effect of a guarantee, right or remedy, in contravention of sections 18 and 29(1)(m) of the ACL and contravened section 102(2)(a) of the ACL by failing to include mandatory text required under regulation 90 of the CCR stating that consumers are entitled to a replacement or repair, and in some cases a refund, if their goods are faulty.

To address these issues, Pandora provided the ACCC with a section 87B undertaking including that it will cause a comprehensive review and make any necessary changes to the following:

• its ACL compliance program;
• policies and procedures relating to exchanges, repairs and refunds;
• ACL training material; and
• customer complaints handling system

to minimise the risk of Pandora engaging in conduct likely to contravene the consumer guarantees provisions and sections 18, 29(1)(m) and 102(2)(a) of the ACL in the future.