Competition Authority issued compliance notices to B&Q and Lidl stores for price mismatching

The CCPC found that individual B&Q and Lidl stores were advertising a price of a product lower than what it scanned for or the price paid at the till.

A B&Q outlet, a Lidl store, and the Dublin Mint Office were among 15 compliance notices served by the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission (CCPC) last year, a new report shows.

According to the Consumer Protection List for the year 2022, the CCPC also prosecuted three car dealers in court and served 17 fines - mainly for the display price of a product not matching the actual sale price.

The compliance notice issued to B&Q related to its retail until in Airside Retail Park in Swords. The CCPC found that the trader engaged in a misleading commercial practice by advertising a price of a product lower than what it scanned for or the price paid at the till.

The CCPC said this information would be likely to cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision that they would not otherwise make. The outlet was told to change this so the display price matched the actual price.

Lidl’s Grangegorman outlet in Dublin was issued a compliance order for the same issue. It was also ordered to rectify the price discrepancy.

These B&Q and Lidl stores were also fined by the CCPC for breaching the requirement to display the selling price of goods offered for sale.

A number of other outlets received fines for similar issues including; a Circle K in Santry, a Lifestyle Sports outlet on Mary Street in Dublin, an Applegreen on the Ennis Road in Limerick, a Power City in Swords, a Woodies outlet on the Ennis Road in Limerick, as well as The Range outlet in Liffey Valley.

The Dublin Mint Office - which sells commemorative coins and gifts - was issued two compliance notices last year.

During an inspection, it was found to have provided false information to consumers in relation to their rights and a trader’s obligations, namely referring consumers to incorrect legislation in relation to consumer cancellation rights.

During an inspection of its website, the CCPC also found that the trader failed to provide an electronic link to the online dispute resolution platform.

The company was ordered to amend both of these issues.

The three prosecutions undertaken by the CCPC in 2022 all related to the sale of cars.

Second-hand car dealer Fergus O’Donnell, of Inclusive Car Sales in Dublin, was prosecuted for advertising and selling a car with an incorrect ownership history and mileage which was understated by approximately 5%.

Mr O’Donnell pleaded guilty and was ordered to compensate the consumer and pay €6,150 in the CCPC’s costs.

Another second-hand car dealer Jordan Black, from Carlow, was convicted on charges of acting as a disguised trader and of misleading a consumer in relation to the mileage of the car.

Mr Black was fined €1,100 in total, ordered to pay €2,500 in compensation as well as €2,000 towards the CCPC’s investigation.

The last prosecution was against car-dealer Anthony Behan, in Ratoath Co. Meath, was found to have engaged in a misleading commercial practice by asserting a car had not been crashed before when it was sold.

Mr Behan was given a €700 fine and ordered to pay €7,100 in compensation to the consumer.