Pak'nSave supermarkets plead guilty to misleading prices
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Two Pak’nSave supermarkets have admitted breaching the Fair Trading Act by misleading consumers with inaccurate pricing.
The Commerce Commission filed criminal charges in March against Pak’nSave Silverdale, Auckland and Pak’nSave Mill Street in Hamilton for alleged inaccurate pricing and misleading specials that may have breached the Fair Trading Act.
Pak’nSave Silverdale earlier this month entered guilty pleas in the Auckland District Court on seven charges and was remanded without plea on another three charges.
Pak’nSave Mill Street pleaded guilty to four charges and was remanded without plea on four further charges.
Both were remanded without plea on another seven.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $600,000, potentially totalling millions of dollars.
As the case was before the court, the commission said it was unable to comment further.
A Foodstuffs spokesperson said the company was unable to comment while the matter was before the court.
Consumer NZ had earlier filed a complaint with the commission supported by hundreds of shoppers who had sent in examples of pricing problems on supermarket shelves.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said the Fair Trading Act existed to protect shoppers from misleading and deceptive pricing and promotional practices, “and it’s essential that companies, especially major brands like Pak'nSave are held to account”.
Consumers deserved clear, honest information when making purchasing decisions. Misleading pricing not only eroded trust, but it also disadvantaged shoppers amid an ongoing cost of living crisis, he said.
“We urge all supermarkets and retailers to take this as a wake-up call. Misleading promotions and systemic pricing are unacceptable.”
In December Commerce Commission deputy chairperson Anne Callinan said “shoppers should have confidence that the price they see will be the price they pay, and specials really are special”.
“Supermarkets have long been on notice about the importance of accurate and clear pricing and specials, and we’re not satisfied with the continuing issues we’re seeing across the industry.
“Pricing accuracy is a consumer right and an expectation of a competitive market. The major supermarkets are large, well-resourced businesses that should invest the time and effort to get pricing and promotions right,” Callinan said.
Since the commission’s 2022 market study into groceries the consumer watchdog has kept a close eye on supermarket pricing integrity and made clear the industry had to improve.
“The charges we’re filing against major supermarket brands are to remind all supermarket operators that we expect them to fix ongoing pricing accuracy issues and implement better processes to prevent issues like these in the future,” Callinan said at the time.