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Archive for the 'legal' Category

Misleading and Deceptive Conduct

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

It’s difficult for entrepreneurs and small business owners to know where the legal line is in marketing. I really do get that – they’re desperate to make conversions and, along the way, there are probably going to be casualties.

The Limitations on Australian Companies

However, in the modern world everybody should be aware that companies do have limitations on the claims they can make and the manner of selling they undertake to snag new customers. In the modern world it’s not enough to be greedy in business… even if you’re successful. You are going to be held to account for your marketing integrity.

The limitations for an Australian company are spelled out in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Prior to 1 January, 2011 this piece of legislation was more widely known as the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Any Australian company should understand what constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct under this legislation. And they should realise that:

No matter how a business communicates with you—whether it is through packaging, advertising, logos, endorsements or sales pitch—you have the right to receive accurate and truthful messages about the goods and services that you buy.ACCC

Legislation that Protects Consumers

When defining what constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct in business the ACCC provides these statements:

There is a very broad provision in the Australian Consumer Law that prohibits conduct by a corporation that is misleading or deceptive, or would be likely to mislead or deceive you.

It makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead or deceive you—it is how the conduct of the business affected your thoughts and beliefs that matters.

If the overall impression left by an advertisement, promotion, quotation, statement or other representation made by a business creates a misleading impression in your mind—such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services—then the conduct is likely to breach the law.ACCC

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About the Author

Steven Clark Steven Clark - the stand up guy on this site

My name is Steven Clark (aka nortypig) and my passions are business, web development, photography and writing. My current CV [PDF 619KB] is available for download. I have an MBA (Journalism and Media Studies) and a Bachelor of Computing from the University of Tasmania.

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My photography is at Steven Clark Studio and my regular photo blog presents an ongoing stream of latest images at Walk a Mile in my Shoes and I'm working on a long-term photography project called the King Island Project.

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