The Federal Court today ruled Latitude Finance Australia and retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd made false or misleading representations in an advertising campaign for a 60-month interest free and no deposit payment method.
Corporate regulator ASIC was concerned the advertisements masked the fact consumers were required to take out a credit card, such as the Latitude GO Mastercard, to purchase goods. The advertisements were published between January 2020 and August 2021.
"ASIC took this case because we believed many consumers may have been unaware of the financial arrangements they were entering into when they bought everyday products at Harvey Norman stores," said ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court.
"In some cases, this may have meant they paid considerably more for purchases than they expected.
"The financial obligations under a credit card are different to what was advertised by Harvey Norman. A continuing credit contract can involve multiple advances of credit together with monthly account service fees and high interest rates, all of which add up for consumers.
"Consumers deserve to be fully informed so that they can consider their current financial position and decide if a credit card is the appropriate product for them."
ASIC alleged in the proceedings that Latitude and Harvey Norman contravened the ASIC Act by pursuing a national advertising campaign in newspapers, and on radio and on television stations across Australia, which ASIC alleged failed to adequately disclose the true scope and cost of the promoted payment method.
The court found the advertisements’ statement of the payment method was presented as a complete statement, when it was far from complete.
Justice Yates found that "consumers who wished to make such a purchase had to enter into a fundamentally different financial arrangement than the one promoted - namely, a continuing credit contract with Latitude that was linked to a credit card (the GO Mastercard), whether or not they wanted a credit card (let alone a GO Mastercard), which required them to pay an establishment fee and ongoing monthly account service fees in respect of that linked account".
ASIC, which launched legal action two years ago, will seek pecuniary penalties against Latitude and Harvey Norman.
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