The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has continued its streak of pinning vendors for misleading consumers, with Fitbit becoming the latest vendor to fall.
According to the ACCC, the wearable company told consumers between November 2016 and March 2017 that warranty for faulty products existed for a year, and that faulty products would only be replaced for "the remainder of the calendar year or 30 days, whichever was longer".
Fitbit has now signed onto an enforceable undertaking, has extended its express warranty to two years, and will now warn Australians when a Fitbit Premium payment is about to occur, rather than automatically renewing it without notice.
"Fitbit has acknowledged that it may have breached the law by misrepresenting what customers were entitled to for faulty products," ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
"If a business offers its own limited express warranty, they must make it clear that the warranty is in addition to the remedies available under the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees, not instead of them."
The consumer watchdog has been hitting companies regularly for misleading consumers in recent times.
Last month, Optus was ordered to pay AU$1.5 million in penalties[1] by the Australian Federal Court, after having been found to make misleading representations to its fixed broadband customers about their shift to the National Broadband Network hybrid fibre-coaxial service.
The ACCC had alleged that between October 2015 and March 2017, Optus advised its customers in writing that they would be disconnected from the Optus HFC network within a specified period due to the availability of NBN in their area.
Optus had benefited by approximately AU$750,000 due to the conduct, according to the ACCC.
The ACCC has also