(Reuters) – Australia’s Coles Group said on Friday it would defend the class action proceedings commenced by an Australian consumer protection law firm in Australia’s Federal Court over the retailer’s alleged misleading discount claims.
On Thursday, Gerard Malouf & Partners launched a lawsuit against the country’s top two supermarkets, Woolworths and Coles, accusing the duo of promoting misleading discount claims on daily-use products.
Earlier in September, Australia’s consumer watchdog took the supermarket chains to court over “illusory” discounts, claiming that the firms had benefitted from revenue derived from the affected millions of units of products.
Gerard Malouf & Partners, however, clarified that its lawsuit was different from that of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), as the former is seeking refunds for the affected customers.
On Thursday, Woolworths declined to comment on the proceedings launched against the firm by the consumer protection law firm.
(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee; editing by Alan Barona)