‘These defences are unconvincing and lack commercial logic’: Lawyers slam Coles and Woolies as class action looms
Coles and Woolworths are fighting a Federal Court lawsuit brought by the ACCC, but a pair of class action suits being mounted may prove a more costly loss for the supermarket giants which are now battling a major brand crisis.
Carter Capner Law and GMP Law are both investigating potential class action suits against Coles and Woolworths for breaking Australian consumer law, following news that ACCC has launched legal action against the supermarket giants.
Last week, Mumbrella spoke to Carter Capner Law director Peter Carter about their potential case, which Carter assured “will happen, there’s no question about that,”
“There is a very palpable case of deceptive conduct that needs to be redressed on a civil basis to give compensation to the consumers who were deceived,” he said.
“So it’s certainly going to happen.”
Now, we speak to Gerard Malouf, chairman of GMP Law, about what needs to happen next, and how aggrieved shoppers can get justice.
How likely is a class action to happen, and what roadblocks stand in the way?
Our firm is in the process of drafting our pleadings, including an Originating Application and Statement of Claim to be lodged in the Federal Court of Australia for actions against both Woolworths and Coles in which we intend to seek a refund for consumers.
We are in the position to lodge the claim in the immediate future. We are just considering whether we wait until Coles and Woolworths file their defence to the ACCC’s Concise Statement, as that will give us a clearer picture of what their proposed defence to the ACCC claim will be. This, we believe, will put consumers in a better position to file a successful and succinct claim against Coles and Woolworths. Coles and Woolworths have been ordered to file their defence to the ACCC claim by 29 November 2024.
The class action proposed by GMP Law will be an application to the Federal Court for damages on behalf of up to 13.5 million Woolworths and Coles loyalty card customers. Since the commencement of our investigation, GMP Law has had tens of thousands of group members register their interests with us in our proposed class actions. This large influx of registrations reflects a clear indication of harm across a broad spectrum of Coles and Woolworths customers.
Our investigations are different to the ACCC proceedings. Our claim will be for the losses occasioned by customers seeking reimbursement for the allegedly illusory discounts. The ACCC proceedings would likely reflect in a deterrent penalty to discourage these major supermarkets from acting in this way again but would not seek a refund for customers
Woolworths and Coles are denying liability in the ACCC action for allegedly misleading pricing. They argue that the price reductions, which appeared to be deceptive discounts, were a result of initial price increases driven by suppliers facing higher production costs. The subsequent price drops, they claim, were the outcome of complex commercial negotiations with suppliers, which raised the cost of goods and included promotional spending by suppliers to market their products. In our view, and likely the ACCC’s, these defences are unconvincing and lack commercial logic.
The initially-reported figure of $2-$5,000 per family: where did that come from, and how wide-ranging could this be?
GMP Law is committed to always being honest and transparent with our clients and group members.
It is very difficult to provide an estimate or range for the potential damages available to group members at this stage. We are in the process of assessing the average number of products purchased by customers over the contravening periods during which this scheme operated.
Assuming there are close to 600 products purchased over a period of approximately two years, across both supermarkets there could be hundreds of dollars owed to each customer. The average difference in dollar terms between the inflated ‘was’ price and the misleading discounted price is approximately $2.36 the items we have been able to review. This means that, on average, consumers were potentially led to believe they were saving around $2.36 per product after the price was inflated and then discounted.
Exact damages will be a matter to be determined in due course once discovery is undertaken, however our aim is to achieve the maximum compensation for all customers who have been unjustly treated, most of whom are everyday Aussies that can least afford this financial impost. We say the actions of Coles and Woolworths do not pass the “pub test.”
Could it be tens of millions in costs?
The legal costs might amount to millions of dollars depending on the extent and aggressiveness of the fight put up by the defendants Woolworths and Coles.
There’s no financial risk or obligation by signing up to the class action group against Woolworths and or Coles. We propose to bring the class action on a ‘No Win-No Fee’ basis. This means we will not charge any professional legal fees or out-of-pocket expenses until the matter is successful.
Upon success, Woolworths and Coles would be responsible for all costs.
How do people sign up or make their interest known?
Register with GMP Law Woolworths class action and Coles class action through the relevant links.
You may be eligible to join the Woolworths and/or Coles class action and claim compensation if you shopped at Woolworths in Australia, in-store or online, between September 2021 to May 2023, and purchased products marked as “Priced Dropped’, or if you shopped at Coles in Australia, in-store or online, between February 2022 and May 2023, and purchased products marked as “Priced Dropped” or “Down Down”.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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Ridiculous this is an American style Lawsuit aimed at making Lawyers rich
Bloody Ambulance Chasers
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Lawyers are on business development mission. Consumers choose to purchase. Others look at price and choose not to. When goods are on the shelf until presented at checkout they are “invitation to treat” . Present at checkout out and customer determined they will buy at that price. Regardless what happens upto the checkout, it is people responsible for their own actions in selecting what they propose to purchase. Australia is great at kangaroo court and poor personal responsibility. I imagine that after all the hoo ya and likely more input costs for supermarkets that prices in general will rise. It is illogical to not think that. Supermarkets are a low net profit business. There must be profit or with time the same complainers will be complaining there isn’t enough food. Considering the increase in population supermarkets should be given credit they could scale up to feed the mass increase of population. Expect prices to increase
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So ridiculous,all it is,is a witch hunt by the accc,and the government,to take the focus off them,who are to blame for high inflation.
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