Boots Ireland found guilty of misleading Black Friday discounts

Tom Tuite

Boots Ireland has admitted breaking pricing laws during a 2023 Black Friday sale, triggering a Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) investigation.

The retail giant was summoned to appear before Judge Anthony Halpin at Dublin District Court on Monday, with the case centred on electric toothbrushes and perfume.

It was prosecuted under a law that compelled traders to base any discount on the lowest price in at least the previous 30 days and to display this price clearly on any price tag or advertisement.

The case centred on Oral-B toothbrushes. Noting that the wrongly advertised price information stemmed from "human error", the firm's lack of prior convictions and its guilty plea, Judge Halpin said Boots could avoid a court conviction.

He adjourned the case until June 26th, saying that if it paid €4,624 toward the CCPC costs and €1,000 to the Little Flower Penny Dinners charity, he would apply the Probation of Offender's Act.

It was among the first batch of prosecutions under new sales pricing rules introduced in 2022.

Cathal Ó Braonáin BL, for the competition regulator, said the offence arises when a retailer announces a reduced selling cost without announcing the product's prior price, which must be the lowest offered by that trader in the preceding 30 days.

Boots Ireland pleaded guilty to a sample count, with two others withdrawn. Counsel explained that a proposal was accepted on the basis that the company would pay costs and the court would hear facts on all three charges.

Mr Ó Braonáin said CCPC authorised officer David Mulholland was tasked with overseeing and managing traders' price reduction announcements on their websites for the November 17th, 2023, Black Friday sale.

Data collected from Boots revealed there had been three breaches.

The first involved a black limited edition Oral-B iO 10 electric toothbrush, which was advertised for sale at €470, and the prior price indicated was €999.99.

The date of the reduction announcement was November 16th, 2023, but that was not the lowest price applied to the product over the previous 30 days.

Judge Halpin heard that from November 11th-14th, it was offered for sale at €470, the same price, so €999.99 was not the correct prior price.

The next item was another Oral B electric toothbrush advertised on November 16 for €240, with the indicated prior sale price being €590.99. However, from November 9th-14th, it was offered at a lower cost of €228.

The final charge involved the sale of Dior Eau de Toilette at €104 when the previous price indicated was €123, but it had been offered at a lower cost of €94 earlier that month.

Boots' solicitor, Eoin Mac Aodha, pleaded for leniency, telling Judge Halpin that it was a human error and the firm was remorseful.

He stressed that there were about 104,000 products on promotion on Black Friday, and these offences represented a tiny number of items on sale.

A full review of internal processes has since taken place, and guidance, protocols, and governance have been updated.

Mr MacAodha submitted that Boots was happy to make a charitable donation and to pay costs.

Judge Halpin remarked that Boots was a very reputable firm in Ireland with branches and employees throughout the country, and he noted a senior compliance officer from the company had travelled over from the UK to attend the proceedings.

The charge came under the European Union (Requirements to Indicate Product Prices) (Amendment) Regulations introduced in November 2022.

Lifestyle Sports (Ireland), DID Electrical Appliances, Rath-Wood Home and Garden World pleaded guilty to the same charges on March 10th.

On Monday, Judge Halpin noted they had each paid €1,000 to the Little Flower Penny Dinners and the costs of the CCPC; consequently, he spared them convictions and applied the Probation of Offenders Act in their cases.

Following the court hearing, Brian McHugh, Chairperson of the CCPC, said:

“Misleading sale discounts harm consumers and harm competition. Businesses need to be able to compete for consumers openly and honestly on price.

“Transparency around sales discounts allows consumers to make informed decisions about their purchases and to shop with confidence.”