Danoz Direct Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Danoz Direct Pty Ltd (Danoz Direct) in relation to claims it made about the alleged weight loss and fitness benefits of the Abtronic X2 fitness device, which the ACCC considered were likely to contravene sections 18 and 29(1)(g) of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Danoz Direct acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns and that it did not have reasonable grounds for making these representations.

Danoz Direct is a direct marketing company that promotes a range of products to consumers throughout Australia through the use of online and television marketing.

Between at least August 2013 and September 2014, Danoz Direct promoted and sold the Abtronic X2 through its television infomercials. In its promotion of the Abtronic X2, Danoz Direct made a number of misleading representations about the effectiveness and benefits of the Abtronic X2 as a weight loss and fitness device, including that:

• Use of the Abtronic X2, without any other exercise or dietary modification, will produce weight loss;
• Use of the Abtronic X2, without any other exercise or dietary modification, will produce firm, flat abdominal muscles;
• Use of the Abtronic X2, without any other exercise or dietary modification, will tighten, tone, sculpt and flatten the stomach;
• One minute of use of the Abtronic X2 has the same effect as up to 400 sit ups; and
• The Abtronic X2 provides an intense workout, even when a person is sitting down, working at their computer or watching television.

To address the ACCC’s concerns, Danoz Direct Pty Ltd provided the ACCC with a section 87B undertaking that it will:

• Prevent Danoz Direct from making unsubstantiated claims in relation to the Abtronic X2’s weight loss and fitness benefits in the future;
• Establish and implement a Competition and Consumer Compliance program in accordance with the guidelines set out in the undertaking;
• Ensure that all current and future advertising for the Abtronic X2 is reviewed personally by Danoz Direct’s CEO and the Compliance Officer before publication or broadcast; and
• Within 28 days of the Commencement Date of the undertaking, cause to be published on the Danoz Direct website a corrective notice in the form prescribed in the undertaking.