JB Hi-Fi to refund $250k after ACCC says sale pricing misled customers

Refunds after ACCC concerns

JB Hi-Fi will refund more than $250,000 to 206 customers after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised concerns about the retailer's online sale pricing.

The ACCC said the issue involved comparative “was/is” pricing on 17 products, including laptops, a VR headset and gaming monitors. Regulators said the higher reference prices used in some promotions could mislead shoppers about the size of a discount.

According to the ACCC, some of the “was” prices had never actually been used for the products, some were used only briefly, and others had been used long before the promotion appeared online.

The watchdog said the matter was resolved administratively, without further formal enforcement action.

How the pricing issue emerged

The ACCC said its concerns related to JB Hi-Fi online pricing reviewed over a period from March to September last year.

More than 200 customers bought products while they were advertised with the allegedly misleading higher reference price. The regulator later said 206 customers were due to receive refunds.

The refund total is more than $250,000, according to the reports summarising the resolution.

JB Hi-Fi's response

JB Hi-Fi said the pricing problems were caused by inadvertent human and system errors in a small number of limited circumstances.

The company said it fully cooperated with the ACCC and has already contacted the affected customers to arrange remediation.

What the case means

Comparative discounting is a common retail tactic, but it depends on the reference price being genuine and current enough to support the advertised saving.

That is why the case matters for consumers: if a sale price is compared with an inflated, outdated or unused reference price, the discount can appear bigger than it really is.

The ACCC's intervention also signals continued scrutiny of how major retailers present discounts online.

What happens next

The immediate remediation appears to be underway, but two questions remain open.

First, whether the refund total or customer count changes if additional affected shoppers are identified. Second, whether the ACCC publishes a standalone media release or case note with more detail on the products involved.

For now, the company says the problem has been addressed and the affected customers have been contacted.