Fashion retail group taken to Federal Court by ACCC
The ACCC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Mosaic Brands, alleging the fashion retail group breached Australian Consumer Law by advertising delivery timeframes it failed to meet on several hundred thousand occasions.
Mosaic Brands owns brands Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Rockmans, Millers, Autograph, Beme, Crossroads, and W. Lane. It runs 804 stores, nationally, and has approximately 7.8 million online members.
According to the ACCC, Mosaic Brands advertised on its brand websites that items would be delivered within certain timeframes, generally between two and 17 business days, from the purchase date.
The ACCC charges between September 23, 2021, and March 31, 2022, found that Mosaic Brands “made false or misleading representations to consumers that it would deliver products purchased online within the advertised delivery timeframes”.
It is also alleged that Mosaic Brands “wrongly accepted payment for goods during the same period, when it failed to deliver orders within the advertised timeframes, or within a reasonable timeframe, or not at all”.
The consumer watchdog found over 26% of items ordered were dispatched from Mosaic Brands’ warehouses “at least 20 days, and in some cases more than 40 days” after the purchase date.
In addition, Mosaic Brands “misrepresented consumer guarantee rights in the terms and conditions published on eight of its brands websites, when it stated that consumers were only eligible for a refund for a faulty product if they sought the refund within six months of the purchase date”.
“The ACCC has received hundreds of complaints about Mosaic Brands in relation to delivery delays,” ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said.
“Excessively late deliveries can be incredibly frustrating and inconvenient for consumers, especially if they decided to buy goods for a special occasion, such as Christmas, based on the advertised delivery times which were not met,” Ms Carver said.
“Consumer issues in domestic supply chains is a current ACCC enforcement priority.”
The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions and penalties, as well as costs and other orders, including that Mosaic Brands implement a consumer law compliance program.
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