Class action filed against Coles and Woolworths over grocery prices- how Aussie shoppers could be eligible for a refund
A class action law firm has filed a lawsuit against Coles and Woolworths over alleged dodgy sales prices.
Sydney-based firm GMP Law filed the lawsuit in the Federal Court on Thursday, saying consumers who join could receive a refund ranging from $200 to $1300.
“We believe this class action is an essential step towards protecting consumer rights and demanding transparency in retail practices across Australia,” GMP Law chairman Gerard Malouf said.
The case stems from the national consumer watchdog charging Coles and Woolworths separately.
However, Mr. Malouf says that consumers who join his company’s cause “could be eligible for a refund ranging from $200 to $1,300+, depending on their shopping habits and purchases at these retailers.”
‘GMP Law is committed to holding these retailers accountable and will seek reimbursement for affected consumers.
“The proposed legal action aims to restore the price difference between the alleged illusory discounted price and the original, undiscounted price.”
The company said consumers who join will not have to pay legal fees unless the case is successful.
A Coles spokeswoman told NewsWire that Coles would defend the ACCC case, and that 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 gathering evidence on Coles and Woolworths in September, when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it had sued the two major supermarkets.
The ACCC alleged that both major supermarkets had temporarily increased prices by at least 15 per cent, before each adding promotional discount stickers to more than 200 products at prices higher than before the increase.
When Coles said it would defend the case, Woolworths said it would “carefully review the claims”.
When contacted about the latest lawsuit on Thursday, the Coles spokesperson pointed NewsWire to comments the Coles Group chairman made at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.
Chairman James Graham told shareholders that Coles had taken part in nine federal, state government and ACCC investigations over the past year into various aspects of the supermarket sector.
Australian shoppers could get a refund from $200 to more than $1300 if they join the class action (pictured a shopper in a Coles meat department)
Coles Group chairman James Graham (pictured) told shareholders this week that the company will defend the ACCC case
“In all cases we have provided information to assist those carrying out the assessment,” Mr Graham said.
The period over which the ACCC is pursuing proceedings 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 increased by 24 per cent, the ACCC found. But that increase was overshadowed in Britain, New Zealand, the US and Canada, where average OECD retail inflation was 35 percent.
But the ACCC, and now two law firms, have been targeting the conduct of both supermarkets for more than a year, until May 2023.
The other class action firm that has filed a case – Carter Capner Law – announced Wednesday that it was seeking “collective representatives” from each state to join the lawsuit and attach their names to the lawsuits, to to act as main applicant and to attend court hearings.