The ACCC has instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court against The Bradford Exchange Ltd (Bradford) for allegedly making false or misleading representations in its advertising of collectable coins and ingots in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
A global retailer of coins and memorabilia, Bradford allegedly made misleading representations to consumers in over 300 newspaper and magazine advertisements for collectable coins and ingots across Australia.
It is alleged that, in many cases, Bradford represented that it would send consumers a single advertised item, when in fact Bradford sent consumers multiple items subject to a subscription (in some cases up to 24 items) and charged them for those items.
Bradford also allegedly represented that, if consumers responded to the relevant advertisements, they would be treated as only agreeing to purchase the single item identified in the advertisement, when this was not the case.
Subsequent items in these collections were typically far more expensive than the originally advertised item, for example, costing $79.99 after the first item was priced at $29.99.
The ACCC alleges that Bradford applied direct debits, or invoiced consumers for these subsequent items. Consumers who did not pay an invoice were sent follow up invoices, some of which incurred a 'reminder charge'. If the invoice remained unpaid, consumers would ultimately be referred to a debt collection agency which charged additional fees.
"We are alleging Bradford's actions amounted to a 'subscription trap' for consumers who thought they were buying one coin or ingot but were treated as if they had agreed to subscribe to receive an entire series and be charged accordingly," ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
Subscription traps occur when businesses mislead consumers into signing up for a subscription by representing that the consumer is only making a one-off purchase, or by making cancellation of a subscription difficult.
The ACCC action relates to alleged misleading representations between 1 January 2021 and 26 June 2023 in advertisements by Bradford for collectable commemorative coins and ingots in various print newspapers and magazines across Australia such as the Herald Sun, the Courier Mail, Woman's Day magazine and New Idea magazine.
The advertisements featured a large image of a single coin or ingot, often with historical or nostalgic themes such as Queen Elizabeth II, World War 1, Phar Lap, and the 1971 Ford Falcon.
In addition, the ACCC alleges Bradford's advertisements prominently stated a single price for that item and did not state the total price of all the items in each collection.
"Businesses must be open and transparent when signing consumers up to subscriptions, including by stating the total price of goods or services being purchased," Ms Carver said.
"There have been a large number of complaints about this company from consumers who purchased a single item from Bradford but were then sent and charged for additional items."
"We consider Bradford's actions deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice about whether to buy an entire collection of items. As a result, many consumers are likely to have paid for subsequent items they did not want or intend to buy and some are likely to have experienced distress and financial loss when Bradford charged them for items they did not intend to purchase," Ms Carver said.
The ACCC is seeking penalties, declarations, injunctions, costs and other orders for Bradford's alleged contraventions.
Example of Bradford advertisements:
Bradford exchange platinum jubilee coin ( PDF 2.71 MB )
Background
Bradford is a US-based, retailer of limited-edition memorabilia and collectables including coins and ingots, jewellery, prints, model cars, ornaments and figurines. A significant proportion of Bradford's revenue comes from the sale of collections. Bradford advertises its products through mainstream newspapers and magazines, as well as on its website and social media accounts.
The Bradford Exchange Group operates globally across fifteen countries including the US, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Germany. Bradford has operated in Australia for 34 years.
Concise Statement
ACCC v Bradford Exchange - Concise Statement ( PDF 3.75 MB )
This document contains the ACCC's initiating court document in relation to this matter. We will not be uploading further documents in the event these initial documents are subsequently amended.
