Complaints about Australasia’s largest catalogue retailer, EziBuy, using misleading labelling and advertising have had continuing consequences on both sides of the Tasman.

Despite a settlement 12 months ago with the Commerce Commission in New Zealand over wrongly labelled “mohair” throws, the retailer allegedly went on to sell cashmere pashmina shawls which were actually cotton polyester.

Ezibuy initially ran into problems when it advertised and sold an acrylic/mohair throw as a “mohair throw” with “pure mohair pile” for 12 months from October 2005.

In September 2006 the label was altered to say “mohair pile woven into a wool acrylic nylon base” but the outer packaging still described the product as a mohair throw.

Over 11,000 were sold in New Zealand up to December 2006, but testing showed it was 40 percent acrylic, 20 percent nylon, 30 percent mohair and 10 percent wool.

Ezibuy promised the commission that all future stock would be accurately labelled and packaged, but later was charged after allegedly selling the pashmina shawls as cashmere rather than a cotton mix.

It is expected to appear in Auckland District Court on September 3 on charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act.

Founded by brothers Peter and Gerard Gillespie in 1978, EziBuy has sales of about $150 million and employs about 650 people to sell clothing and home wares throughout New Zealand and Australia via the internet, and mail catalogues.

EziBuy also has 10 stores in New Zealand.

Its contact centre, distribution centre and administration are run out of Palmerston North and its merchandising, marketing, finance corporate services and supply chain operations from Auckland.

In Australia, EziBuy has just cut a deal with the commission’s local counterpart, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and offered refunds to Australian purchasers of both its mohair throws and pashmina shawls after acknowledging its fabric labelling and advertising may have been misleading and deceptive.

The ACCC said in a statement released today that it accepted an undertaking from EziBuy over labelling and advertising of the items.

The ACCC said that it had accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from EziBuy that:

* all future advertising will accurately describe the composition, quality or standard of the product range;

* corrective advertising will be published in two catalogues, and corrective advertising placed on its Australian website;

* it has re-labelled all current stock and new season stock of the throws;

* offer refunds to misled customers;

* will run a trade practices compliance programme for two years.