Four Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX:HVN) franchisees have been found to have mislead consumers and fined by Australia’s competition regulator.
A penalty of $234,000 has been set for making false or misleading representations regarding consumer guarantee rights.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the misrepresentations were made orally by sales representatives or store managers in each store.
Harvey Norman stores identified include Oxley in Queensland, Gordon in New South Wales and the now closed Mandurah and Albany stores located in Western Australia.
The ACCC has ordered the stores in Oxley and Gordon to display in-store corrective notices and implement a consumer law compliance program.
Harvey Norman Holdings reported a net profit of $111 million in the first half of the 2014 financial year.
