The TV Shop Penalised $1.104 Million After Staff Wrote Positive ‘customer’ Reviews, Misled ConsumersThe District Court has ordered Brand Developers Ltd, trading as The TV Shop, to pay a $1,104,000 penalty for a range of conduct, including company staff members posting positive product reviews without disclosing their affiliation with the business. In her sentencing decision, Judge Belinda Sellars KC called The TV Shop’s offending in relation to online reviews “deliberate and systematic”. Earlier, in a December judgment, the District Court also found The TV Shop systematically misled customers about their rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Separately, in 2022 The TV Shop was fined $123,500 after failing to comply with extended warranty disclosure requirements (https://www.comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/news-and-events/2022/tv-shop-fined-for-extended-warranties-disclosure-failures/). Rights under Consumer Guarantees ActUnder the Consumer Guarantees Act, products are guaranteed to be fit for purpose and of acceptable quality.