ACCC

Mazda has been ordered to pay $11.5 million after a court found the Japanese car maker engaged in “appalling” customer service and misled nine purchasers of defective vehicles about their entitlement to a refund or replacement under the Australian Consumer Law.

A report by former ACCC head Allan Fels has found that corporate greed and lack of competition is to blame for the continued high prices experienced by Australians and called on the government to take action to fill the regulatory gaps that allow businesses to engage in price-gouging.

Australia’s merger review regime is “outdated” and in need of an overhaul, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which says companies must explain why their acquisitions should get the all-clear.

Webb Henderson has snagged a leading litigation and regulatory partner from Corrs Chambers Westgarth to join its team in Sydney.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will conduct a one-year inquiry into supermarket pricing and competition amid concerns by consumers.

A judge has hit Airbnb with a $15 million penalty for misleading Australian consumers by displaying accommodation prices in US dollars, on top a $15 million consumer redress scheme the vacation rental giant has implemented.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has renewed its calls for the government to adopt its proposed reforms to the merger regime, warning that consumers and businesses will pay the price for continuing anti-competitive mergers which enable parties to engage in “legal brinkmanship” with the regulator.

Honda Australia has been hit with a $6 million penalty for misleading communications made to customers of three dealerships during a restructuring in which the car maker’s shuttered its independent dealer network in favour of an agency model.

Despite proposing a divestiture as part of its planned takeover of Healius, Australian Clinical Labs has failed to win the approval of the competition regulator for the $1.5 billion deal.

The consumer watchdog has asked a court to impose a $15 million penalty against Airbnb in addition to a $15 million consumer redress scheme, in a case alleging the vacation rental giant misled Australian consumers by displaying prices in  US dollars.