Online auction company Grays has been fined $10 million for posting false and misleading car ads.
Grays admitted to misrepresenting the descriptions of hundreds of cars listed for sale on its website between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022, meaning hundreds of customers may have bought a car they did not wish to purchase.
The misleading information pertained to ads that listed features the car did not have, including the wrong manufacturing date, and failing to mention any obvious faults of the vehicle.
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“Grays made false or misleading representations in at least 750 car descriptions on its website,” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Commissioner Liza Carver said.
“As a result, hundreds of consumers may have bought a car they would not otherwise have purchased, or may have paid more than they would have, if they had known the correct details.”
Carver said the misconduct caused an estimated $3.86 million in losses to consumers.
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“Affected consumers often had to invest significant time and energy to convince Grays to provide a remedy, and were made to wait months for a resolution,” Carver said.
“We are aware of some consumers that paid to repair the vehicle that was incorrectly described or re-sold it at a loss.”
The Federal Court has ordered Grays to redress customers impacted by the false descriptions.
As Grays begins to reach out to affected car owners, the ACCC is warning of reports of scam callers that have been contacting people offering to help them secure a refund from various businesses.
“If you receive a call from anyone offering to help you with a payment or refund, hang up immediately,” the consumer watchdog said.
“Never give personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue, never give access to your computer or bank account and never click on a link in a text message or open an attachment in an email if you were not expecting the text or email.”
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