Harvey Norman, Latitude Financial lose court case against ASIC on misleading ads
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The news: Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial misled consumers over their advertising of interest free payments from January 2020 to August 2021, the Federal Court has found.
The context: The interest free payments were in fact contingent on consumers applying for and using a Latitude GO Mastercard.
A hearing on a penalty is likely to take place next year.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced legal action against Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial in October 2022.
It alleged the companies' advertisements promoting "no deposit", "interest free" payment methods for purchases at Harvey Norman were misleading because they did not disclose that customers could only use the interest free payment method if they applied for and used a Latitude GO Mastercard.
ASIC also alleged that the advertisements misrepresented the true cost of using the payment method because they failed to adequately disclose establishment fees and monthly account service fees.
In announcements to the ASX following this morning's judgment, Harvey Norman and Latitude both said they would review the court's reasons before deciding whether to appeal the decision.
The sources: ASX announcement, ASX announcement
