Harvey Norman and Latitude face $55m penalty for misleading ad campaign | Judge slams Harvey Norm…

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Harvey Norman and Latitude face $55m penalty for misleading ad campaign

Harvey Norman has been issued the largest-ever penalty from the corporate regulator for an advertising campaign that misled customers to take out credit cards. (Supplied)

Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been issued a combined penalty of $55 million for a misleading advertising campaign.

The businesses were found by the Australian corporate regulator to have spruiked a 60-month interest-free payment scheme to millions of Australians that required them to take out credit cards.

In addition to the fines, both companies were ordered to immediately publish corrected advertising on their websites for 90 days.

Harvey Norman and Latitude Financial have been issued a combined penalty of $55 million for an advertising campaign that misled customers into taking out a credit card when buying products.

Judge slams Harvey Norman boss, orders $55m fine over misleading ads

A Federal Court judge has singled out Gerry Harvey for scathing criticism, saying that the billionaire’s complete disregard for consumers was a key reason his company Harvey Norman must pay an outsize $35 million fine for a deceptive advertising campaign.

That fine is almost double the $20 million fine the judge slapped on co-defendant Latitude Finance, for a total of $55 million between the pair. Harvey Norman has foreshadowed an appeal.

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Gerry Harvey branded the legal system unjust. It has come back to bite him

A judge has singled out comments from billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey calling the legal system “f—ed” as a factor in slapping his company Harvey Norman with $35 million in penalties for running misleading ads.

On Tuesday, Justice Michael O’Bryan made the orders against both Harvey Norman and credit company Latitude Finance Australia – which must pay $20 million in penalties – over a misleading and deceptive advertising campaign spruiking the latter’s credit card product.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had taken Harvey Norman and Latitude to court over a national ad campaign that ran between January 2020 and August 2021, which promoted products as available via a “no-deposit” and 60-month interest-free payment method. But it failed to disclose that customers were actually required to sign up for a credit card with high establishment and monthly fees to access the deal.

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