Class action firm files Federal Court case against Coles, Woolworths
Legal papers have officially been filed against Coles and Woolworths on behalf of consumers in relation to alleged dodgy sale prices.


News.com.au
November 14, 2024

A class action law firm has filed its lawsuit against Coles and Woolworths over allegedly dodgy sales prices.   

The Sydney-based firm GMP Law lodged the lawsuit in the Federal Court on Thursday, and says consumers who join could get refunds ranging from $200 to $1300.

“We believe this class action is an essential move toward safeguarding consumer rights and demanding transparency in retail practices Australia-wide,” GMP Law chairman Gerard Malouf said.

The case stems from the national consumer watchdog suing Coles and Woolworths separately.

However, Mr Malouf says consumers joining his firm’s case “could be eligible for a refund ranging between $200 and $1300+, depending on their shopping habits and purchases at these retailers”.

Since the ACCC announced it was separately suing Coles and Woolworths in September, class action law firms have been compiling their own cases.

“GMP Law is committed to holding these retailers accountable and will be seeking refunds for affected consumers.   

“The proposed legal action aims to recover the price differential between the alleged illusory discounted pricing and the original, undiscounted price.”

The firm said consumers who join would not be charged legal fees unless the case was successful.

A Coles spokeswoman told NewsWire Coles would be defending the ACCC case, and the company had not been formally notified of the GMP case. Woolworths declined to comment on Thursday.


GMP Law and another class action firm – Carter Capner Law – began compiling evidence on Coles and Woolworths in September when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it was suing the two major supermarkets.

The ACCC alleged both major supermarkets temporarily hiked prices by at least 15 per cent before each slapping more than 200 products with promotional discount stickers at prices higher than before the hike.

The ACCC alleges Coles deceived consumers with prices on 245 items over the course of 15 months.
At the time Coles said it would defend the case, Woolworths said it would “carefully review the claims”.

Approached on Thursday about the latest court action, the Coles spokesman pointed NewsWire to comments the Coles Group chairman made at the company annual general meeting on Tuesday.

Chairman James Graham told shareholders in the past year Coles participated in nine federal government, state government and ACCC reviews of different aspects of the supermarket industry.

“In all cases we have provided information to assist those undertaking the review,” Mr Graham said.

Coles Group chairman James Graham told shareholders this week the company will defend the ACCC case.

The period of time the ACCC is suing over relates to a period of significantly high inflation and rising supplier costs for Coles, the company says.

From March 2019 to June 2024, a basket of groceries in Australia went up 24 per cent, the ACCC found. But that hike was eclipsed in the UK, New Zealand, the US and Canada, where the average OECD grocery inflation hit 35 per cent.

But the ACCC, and now two law firms, are targeting the behaviour of both supermarkets for more than a year up to May 2023.

The other class action firm compiling a case – Carter Capner Law – announced on Wednesday it was looking for “class representatives” from each state to join the lawsuit and attach their name to the court cases, to be the lead applicant and attend court hearings.

Woolworths execs to be grilled at watchdog’s inquiry   

Nov 18, 2024
New Daily

Woolworths executives are bracing for a public grilling by the competition watchdog.   


Senior executives from Woolworths will be grilled at an inquiry into the nation’s supermarkets, with Coles bosses to be put to the test later this week.

Details on prices, profitability, competition and supply chains are at the top of the agenda for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) probe initiated by the federal government.


Woolworths’ senior leaders will appear on Monday and Tuesday while those from Coles will face the inquiry on Thursday and Friday, with members of the public able to tune in via a livestream.

The probe is putting costs under the microscope, including how wholesale prices translate to customers at the check out.

Last week, the inquiry heard the two biggest retailers dictate supplier price rises which leaves Metcash, which licenses independent grocery chain IGA, at the whim of those increases.

Coles and Woolworths have two-thirds market share of supermarket sales, Aldi has about ten per cent and Metcash-supplied retailers have about seven per cent.


Overseas grocery markets are more competitive than Australia’s duopoly-dominated sector, Aldi’s national buying managing director Jordan Lack told the inquiry.

Metcash food division chief Grant Ramage said the key measure of whether a price change sticks and is applied across the Australia market is whether Coles and Woolworths accept it.

The ACCC’s final report is due in February and the watchdog is separately taking legal action against the two biggest retailers, accusing them of misleading customers with fake discounts.

The commission alleges they bumped up the price of products by 15 per cent for short periods before dropping the price and selling them under Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” promotion and Coles’ “Down Down” promotion.


Last week, Coles and Woolworths revealed they will fight class action lawsuits filed in the Federal Court over claims they deceived customers through misleading promotions on everyday products.



The aim of that action taken by law firm Gerard Malouf and Partners is to secure compensation for customers.   

The federal government has proposed changes to merger laws and a mandatory food and grocery code of conduct, which would carry multimillion dollar penalties for serious breaches.