Compensation for Vehicle Owners

Owners of a particular Japanese-made Diesel vehicle, purchased before and up to 15 November 1998, may be entitled to a compensation package from the Company which manufactures them. The Company has been ordered by a settlement agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to offer a compensation pack, consisting of one year extended roadside assistance, a free service at 50,000kms and 60,000kms, to all customers who purchased the vehicle on or before 15 November 1998 due to misleading advertising.

The Company had previously advertised, in its advertising brochure and owner's manual that the vehicle in question had a sub-tank with a fuel capacity of 40 litres; however it was later found that the capacity of the sub-tank of the vehicle was only 32.01 litres on average. This misleading information is in breach of Section 53 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), which states:

A corporation shall not, in trade or commerce, in connection with the supply or possible supply of goods or services or in connection with the promotion by any means of the supply or use of goods or services:

a) Falsely represent that goods are of a particular standard, quality, value, grade, composition, style or model or have had a particular history or particular previous use…

All advertising and the owner's manuals relating to the vehicle in question have been changed to show the correct fuel sub-tank measurements as of 16 November 1998.