Online florist ordered to pay $1m in penalties for its misleading ‘local’ representations
ACCC media release. 12 December 2024.
Online florist Meg’s Flowers Pty Ltd has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay penalties of $1 million for making misleading representations, in proceedings brought by the ACCC.
Meg’s Flowers admitted that it had breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading representations that it was a local florist located in each of the towns, suburbs or localities referred to in 156 websites and in 7,462 Google advertisements.
In fact, Meg’s Flowers did not directly maintain any local shopfronts accessible to customers. Orders placed with Meg’s Flowers were fulfilled from any one of 11 Meg’s Flowers premises, or, in some instances, by subcontractors.
“By making misleading claims about the location of the florists, Meg’s Flowers denied some consumers the opportunity to make an informed decision to support a local business, and likely denied truly local businesses the opportunity to make a sale to those consumers,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
