Website Errors

A Japanese motor company has offered a court-enforceable undertaking after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) discovered that their website contained incorrect information regarding one of their vehicles. In December of 2001, the Company breached Section 53(a) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) when they advertised one of their vehicles as having both front and rear power windows as a standard feature, however it is a fact that the car comes with only front power windows as standard.

The error on the Company's website was eventually detected in February 2002, however only part of the website was corrected at the time due to an oversight. Consequently in September of 2002, the Company's attention was again drawn to the website after a customer informed them that the website information on the vehicle in question was still incorrect. Further incorrect information was detected on the website by the ACCC in July 2003.

The Company has since cooperated with the ACCC throughout the investigation and will now carry out two annual website and process audits to guarantee compliance with the Trade Practices Act as part of its undertaking. In addition to the website and process audits, the Company was also ordered to write to customers who bought the vehicle in question between 1 December 2001 and 31 October 2002 apologising for the blunder and offering compensation to buyers who felt that they had been misled by the information. Finally, the Company must also provide a report to the ACCC as part of their undertaking.