Noel Leeming under investigation for selling stock it didn't have

Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Noel Leeming is under investigation for selling items it doesn’t have in stock.

The Commerce Commission had received 57 complaints about Noel Leeming in the last six months for failure to deliver goods sold, a spokeswoman said.

“We have an open investigation into this particular issue,” she said.

Danae Russell said she spent four weeks waiting for a Fisher & Paykel washing machine to be delivered from Noel Leeming after being promised it would arrive within seven days.

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In the end, the Greymouth resident received a refund, but she was still stuck washing her clothes at her mum’s place.

“If they are struggling to get stock in, if there is an issue with getting stuff from overseas, then why aren’t we being told?” Russell said.

The same day she paid for her washing machine, June 1, her mother purchased a bread maker and her brother a tablet for graphic design.

Both had since received refunds for the items because they never arrived, Russell said.

On the Noel Leeming website, washing machines from Samsung, Fisher & Paykel, Haier and others are advertised for sale.

However, many were listed as out of stock or low in stock if you attempted to pick up from stores around the country.

Noel Leeming merchandise general manager Jason Bell said there had been supply issues during New Zealand’s earlier alert levels.

“During alert levels 3 and 2, we experienced unprecedented demand which meant some orders took longer to deliver,” Bell said.

“During this time, we worked hard to get orders to our customers as quickly as possible, including adding four times the resource to our Customer Care team and significantly expanding our fulfilment network to deliver thousands more orders each day.”

The commission spokeswoman said retailers should ensure they are able to deliver sold products within a reasonable time, or within the stipulated timeframe.

“Goods should not be offered for sale when the seller, not having the goods in stock, does not have knowledge of when the item will be in stock and able to be delivered.”

A spokesman for The Warehouse Group, which owned Noel Leeming, said the only current issue in the supply of stock related to the Fisher & Paykel ransomware attack.

In April, Noel Leeming faced similar criticisms for selling items that weren’t in stock, but Russell said the problem seemed to be more widespread than a single retailer.

Other stores were also advertising products for sale that were out of stock around the country, she said.

“It’s not just Noel Leeming, its other stores as well. They are selling items that are not there,” she said.

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said retailers needed to make it clear to customers that items they were buying weren’t in stock, otherwise they risk breaching the Fair Trading Act.

“We’d expect retailers to include prominent notices in any advertising to advise customers the item isn’t yet in stock,” Wilson said.

“If a retailer fails to tell you the item isn’t available, you’d be within your rights to cancel the order and request a refund.”