‘It’s certainly going to happen’: We speak to the lawyer leading Coles and Woolworths class action
A class action against Coles and Woolworths on behalf of thousands of Aussie shoppers will be launched “within a month or two”, Carter Capner Law director Peter Carter has told Mumbrella.
Carter Capner Law is currently gathering information for a class action suit against Coles and Woolworths for breaking Australian consumer law, as the two supermarket chains battle a brand crisis with the current Federal Court charges being brought against them by the ACCC.
Early estimates from the law form suggest households could claim between $2,000 and $5,000.
UPDATE: Coles and Woolies to front Federal Court today for alleged discount scam
Peter Carter says a class action “will happen, there’s no question about that,” telling Mumbrella: “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. So it’s certainly going to happen.”
Carter expects the case to launch within a month or two, but there’s groundwork to be done first.
“We need to develop a theory as to the calculation of losses on a general basis for different consumers, different classes of consumers,” he explained.
“There will be, for example, some consumers with large households, some consumers with smaller households – so basically the damages will depend on the amount of the amount spent, and we have to classify people into different bands depending on what their average spend.”
This data will then be verified against the shopping app data captured through the Flybuys and Rewards loyalty programs – which consumers can access and provide to Carter Capner Law. There are also other ‘bargains’ to dig up.
The ACCC “uncovered a huge amount of information which is very useful,” Carter explains. “What we need to determine, though, they have uncovered information for about 600 items; we need to evaluate the data by reference to responses from the people that register with us as to which of those goods they regularly purchased – and then we have to try and find data, potentially, in relation to other grocery items.”
Carter says getting and analysing the data is the easy part. “We have to determine how the losses will be calculated. Is it the markup, the deceptive markup? Is that the loss? I don’t know. That’s one way of looking at it.
“We just have to think that through and get help from forensic accountants and data people to assist us on that.”
Carter encourages shoppers who feel they are entitled to compensation to register their interest here.
“We can keep in touch with them, so that they can be kept up to date about the steps that are being taken,” Carter said.
So far, 5,000 Australians have registered to be part of the class action against Coles and Woolworths.
“It’s rapidly escalating,” Carter says. “And, as I said, it will happen. We want to do it as soon as possible, but they’re the steps that need to be taken first.”
Carter says “redress is coming” to those shoppers who feel cheated.
“They’re entitled to be outraged, and we’re determined to make sure that the grocery giants are held to account.”
Express your interest in the class action here.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Have your say