An Australian luxury retailer has been cleared over hundreds of allegations it sold fake designer handbags after an investigation found there was no evidence to support the claims.
Cosette, which is located in The Rocks in Sydney’s CBD and operates a website to sell to customers online, has built a reputation for selling designer goods at discounted prices.
NSW Fair Trading received and investigated 1079 consumer complaints and worked directly with overseas luxury brands including Prada, Burberry and Gucci.
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Investigations into suspected fakes are complex and can take months to complete, requiring interviews, gathering of documentation and advice from technical experts.
A NSW Fair Trading spokesperson said each item was tested and verified as authentic by the brand rather than third-party verifiers.
“In some instances, the luxury brand confirmed the authenticity of handbags that multiple online authenticators had advised customers were fake,” the spokesperson said.
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“The investigation highlights that there are significant issues with the accuracy and reliability of online authenticators, who use AI and algorithms to provide authentications.
“Consumers should be aware of the limitations of using some online authenticators.”
The spokesperson said NSW Fair Trading would “continue to carefully assess any further complaints lodged”.
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A spokesperson for Cosette said the findings of the investigation “vindicates our repeated statements on the quality and authenticity of goods sold”.
“These unfounded allegations have had a detrimental impact on our business and, more importantly, our customers, who were wrongly led to believe that some of their products purchased from Cosette were not genuine,” the spokesperson said.
“The allegations stemmed from inaccurate and misleading services provided to customers by third-party authenticators.”
The company spokesperson said Cosette has “successfully defended all of the cases it contested” in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
“In the course of these cases, NCAT found that these authenticators provide ‘no evidence of specific qualifications, skills or knowledge’ in providing their opinion,” the spokesperson said.
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