https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-14/coles-accc-federal-court-judgment/106673800


Coles found to have misled shoppers on discounted items
in bombshell Federal Court case


https://m3.gab.com/preview_cards/images/060/288/135/original/19f7e02e1e183859.jpeg




3h ago

A close up of a red sign with Coles spelt out in white letters.
The consumer watchdog said the supermarket giant misled shoppers with some items on its "Down Down" promotion.  (ABC News: Billy Cooper)

In short:
The Federal Court found the majority of the pricing tickets submitted to the court were not offering genuine discounts and would have misled an ordinary consumer.

It found the supermarket giant did not sell the products at the higher price for long enough before putting them on the "Down Down" promotion.

What's next?
The judge will also rule on a similar case against Woolworths at a later date.

Supermarket giant Coles broke consumer law by misleading shoppers on discount prices, a Federal Court judge has found.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued Coles, alleging it misled shoppers with fake discounts on hundreds of common household items under its prominent "Down Down" promotional campaign.

Judge Michael O'Bryan handed down his judgment in Melbourne this morning, finding that in 13 of the 14 pricing tickets submitted to the court, the discount was not genuine, and would have misled an ordinary customer.

The judge found Coles did not sell products at a higher price for at least 12 weeks before discounting them.

"I have concluded that 13 of the 14 'Down Down' tickets … were misleading because the relevant products were not sold at the 'was' price stated on the ticket for a reasonable period and as a consequence the discount represented on the tickets was not genuine," Justice O'Bryan said.

"Coles engaged in conduct in trade or commerce that was misleading."


The ACCC took the supermarket giant to court over the prices it charged on 245 common household items, including paper towels, dog food and yoghurt, under its prominent "Down Down" promotion between February 2022 and May 2023.

The consumer watchdog claimed the supermarket giant misled shoppers by jacking up the price of an item for a short time, before putting it on a discount.

Coles ripped us all off.   >:(

Bobby. wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 1:28pm:

Coles ripped us all off.   >:(

That's their business model.

greggerypeccary wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 1:31pm:

Bobby. wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 1:28pm: Coles ripped us all off.   >:( That's their business model.

FAKE DISCOUNTS.      >:(

Bobby. wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 1:35pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 1:31pm: Bobby. wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 1:28pm: Coles ripped us all off.   >:( That's their business model. FAKE DISCOUNTS.      >:(

Yep, they'll do whatever it takes.

It's capitalism, Bobby.

The whole idea is to rip-off/exploit consumers and workers.

Yes Greggy,
If Coles gets a $100 million fine they will
jack up the prices so we all pay for it.
There are no winners here.

On another note -

you've got to be careful when buying food.
Almost every isle at Coles or Woolies has food full of:
salt, sugar, bad fats and dangerous chemicals.
Their fresh food is very expensive.
Obesity and diabetes are at plague proportions -
people are literally dying from unhealthy food choices.

I miss old General Store that was half way on the road to town. It was owned by an old man who was nearly blind and was telling customers in which corner of the store to get what and price calculated on abacus. Everything was done with complete honesty and trust. That was nearly 50 years ago.

tallowood wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 3:27pm:

I miss old General Store that was half way on the road to town. It was owned by an old man who was nearly blind and was telling customers in which corner of the store to get what and price calculated on abacus. Everything was done with complete honesty and trust. That was nearly 50 years ago.

Did he have fresh apples?

All supermarket apples are old - even if they cost $4.90 per kilo.
They are put in cold nitrogen storage and kept for up to
9 months before selling at premium prices.
They put new apples in cold storage so they are unavailable.

When I was a boy - back in the 1970s -
the shops would only sell fruit in season.
If you bought apples they were fresh and would last for 6 weeks in the cupboard -
in fact they were a bit hard to eat at first as they were tough from
being only a few days off the tree.
They were the nicest apples I've ever eaten -
crispy, juicy and bursting with flavor and freshness.

Bobby. wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 3:42pm:

tallowood wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 3:27pm: I miss old General Store that was half way on the road to town. It was owned by an old man who was nearly blind and was telling customers in which corner of the store to get what and price calculated on abacus. Everything was done with complete honesty and trust. That was nearly 50 years ago. Did he have fresh apples?

No, there were only local fruit and vegetable, apples don't grow well here, but citrus, grape, kiwi and avocado do well.

tallowood wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 4:47pm:

Bobby. wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 3:42pm: tallowood wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 3:27pm: I miss old General Store that was half way on the road to town. It was owned by an old man who was nearly blind and was telling customers in which corner of the store to get what and price calculated on abacus. Everything was done with complete honesty and trust. That was nearly 50 years ago. Did he have fresh apples? No, there were only local fruit and vegetable, apples don't grow well here, but citrus, grape, kiwi and avocado do well.

Well I want fresh food from Coles and Woolies and no more fake discounts.

The price is the price. It is clearly stated. Only a moron bases their purchasing decision on how much they "save" rather than how much they pay.

freediver wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 5:20pm:

The price is the price. It is clearly stated. Only a moron bases their purchasing decision on how much they "save" rather than how much they pay.

Oh come on -
everyone likes a bargain - even you -

fake bargains suck people into buying.   ::)

freediver wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 5:20pm:

The price is the price. It is clearly stated. Only a moron bases their purchasing decision on how much they "save" rather than how much they pay.

Indeed.

How much they pay, and how much they actually need the item.

"I saved $20 on a chocolate fondue set" 

Bobby. wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 5:34pm:

freediver wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 5:20pm: The price is the price. It is clearly stated. Only a moron bases their purchasing decision on how much they "save" rather than how much they pay. Oh come on - everyone likes a bargain - even you - fake bargains suck people into buying.   ::)

New record price for top steak at Coles:

https://www.coles.com.au/product/coles-finest-carbon-neutral-beef-eye-fillet-steak-330g-6827990

Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Beef Eye Fillet Steak | 330g

$27.00

$81.82/ 1kg

---

greggerypeccary wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 5:55pm:

freediver wrote on May 14th, 2026 at 5:20pm: The price is the price. It is clearly stated. Only a moron bases their purchasing decision on how much they "save" rather than how much they pay. Indeed. How much they pay, and how much they actually need the item. "I saved $20 on a chocolate fondue set"

Good choice Greg.

I don't think they really misled anyone - We all know that they are all ripping us off.

None of these sales are genuine.

Many items are now put on sale at higher sale prices than the normal price from 12 months ago. An item I know was $3.00 normal price in the recent price it is now put on special at $3.50. 

Dnarever wrote on May 14^th, 2026 at 9:40pm:

I don't think they really misled anyone - We all know that they are all ripping us off. None of these sales are genuine. Many items are now put on sale at higher sale prices than the normal price from 12 months ago. An item I know was $3.00 normal price in the recent price it is now put on special at $3.50.

Yes - it's sort of like used car dealers or real estate agents -
they usually rip you off - you expect it.  :)

( some are OK )

Well, thanks for nothing ACCC and the Federal court.

They found that in all cases, the price rises were in fact justified because the supplier had increased the cost!

So, thanks to these idiots at the ACCC we will need to wait 12 weeks before any price relief is forthcoming in the future?

Genius!  ::)

Coles misleading price verdict shows divestiture powers needed
2026-05-14
greens.org.au
Coles being found to have deliberately misled customers with fake discounts shows again that Australia needs powers to break up the supermarket duopoly and an economy-wide ban on price-gouging, the Greens say.

The Federal Court today found Coles misled customers with fake discounts, in a case brought by the ACCC.   >:( 

“Coles and Woolworths treat customers with contempt because they have an iron grip on this country’s grocery sector,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“As the Greens-led Senate inquiry found, Australia needs divestiture powers to forcibly break up the supermarket duopoly, as well as other oligopolies.”

“We also need economy-wide price gouging laws, particularly during a cost of living crisis.”

“The major parties are in thrall to the big corporations because of their political donations. The Greens are not. We need divestiture and price gouging laws now.”   

“The Greens have legislation already drafted and ready to go - the only thing we need is for a bit of courage from the Labor and Liberal parties.”

Hi sir Crook,
you can't really stop them -
it's all part of their stock in trade to trick buyers into thinking they have got a bargain.
You sort of expect it from small shops but not from multi $billion supermarkets.

And yet ... all of the price rises were found to be caused by the suppliers. The court found that to be true.

So, when Coles brought in a discount to the new higher prices, it was actually a reduction from the new price.

The crazy part is that now: the ACCC and the court wants Coles to maintain the new higher prices for longer before providing a discount!  ::)

That's nuts!

Captain Nemo wrote on May 15^th, 2026 at 7:55pm:

And yet ... all of the price rises were found to be caused by the suppliers. The court found that to be true. So, when Coles brought in a discount to the new higher prices, it was actually a reduction from the new price. The crazy part is that now: the ACCC and the court wants Coles to maintain the new higher prices for longer before providing a discount!  ::) That's nuts!

I don't care - the fact is that they are all rogues -
look back in this thread -
they sell 9 month old apples that
have been in cold storage using nitrogen and
they sell them as fresh apples for premium prices.

They make fake price reductions -
down down prices are down.  ::)