Walond Limited, operating as Look Sharp, has been penalized with a fine of $292,500 by the Auckland District Court after admitting to making misleading representations regarding product pricing and consumer rights. This violation falls under the Fair Trading Act, which aims to protect consumers from deceptive practices.

The Commerce Commission's investigation revealed that Look Sharp had numerous pricing errors over an extended period, leading customers to pay up to 33% more than the advertised prices. By late 2022, the company began displaying notices in stores indicating potential discrepancies between labeled prices and actual prices, highlighting the extent of the issue.

Vanessa Horne, General Manager of Competition, Fair Trading, and Credit at the Commerce Commission, emphasized the importance of accurate pricing, noting that incorrect pricing can cause financial strain and erode consumer trust. Affected consumers, including a single parent, expressed that every dollar matters in their household budgets.

In addition to pricing issues, Look Sharp misrepresented customers' rights regarding refunds and exchanges for faulty products from January 2021 to August 2023. These misrepresentations included limiting return timeframes to seven days and falsely claiming that Covid-19 restrictions prevented all returns and exchanges. The Consumer Guarantees Act mandates that goods must be of acceptable quality and outlines consumers' rights to remedies for faulty products.

Despite Look Sharp's revenue of up to $44 million annually and its operation of 20 stores, the breaches originated from its head office, indicating significant gaps in compliance processes. Although the company has since taken steps to improve its compliance systems, the Commission expressed disappointment that no proactive measures were taken prior to their intervention, despite receiving consumer complaints.

In 2024, the Commission also issued a warning to Look Sharp Discount Store Limited, which operates the Look Sharp online store, for similar misleading representations regarding consumer rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act, suggesting further potential breaches of the Fair Trading Act.