Ugg retailer Christofi paid A$39,600 in ACCC penalties for fake strikethrough prices

Christofi Investments, an Australian retailer of Ugg footwear with 26 physical stores, paid A$39,600 in penalties after the ACCC issued it two infringement notices over misleading pricing on its websites. Christofi owns the Ugg Australia Classic website and administers the Ugg Originals website, and the notices covered allegedly misleading was/now claims on both.

The retailer had advertised classic ugg slippers and platform uggs at an apparently discounted price alongside a higher strikethrough 'was' price. The ACCC alleged the claims were false or misleading under the Australian Consumer Law because the products had not been offered for sale or sold at the higher price in a reasonable period beforehand. Images of the advertisements date from November 2025.

ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said consumers were likely misled into thinking they were getting a genuine discount, noting that false pricing also harms competing retailers who present prices fairly, and that the ACL applies to online stores just as much as to bricks-and-mortar. The ACCC stressed that paying an infringement notice penalty is not an admission of contravention, and said it continues to actively pursue misleading pricing by supermarkets and other retailers.

A$39,600 in penalties paid after two ACCC infringement notices for misleading strikethrough pricing claims.

The websites showed a higher strikethrough 'was' price next to a 'discounted' price, implying a saving the shopper was not actually getting.

The products had not been sold at the higher claimed price in a reasonable period beforehand, which is what makes the claim false or misleading under the ACL.

Consumer complaints about the advertising reached the ACCC, prompting it to act with infringement notices rather than mere warning letters.

A strikethrough price is a factual claim, not decoration: if the product was never sold at the higher price in a reasonable period beforehand, the 'discount' is itself the misleading advertisement.

Christofi paid the A$39,600 in penalties attached to the two notices. Under the infringement-notice process, payment discharges the alleged contraventions without a court finding; the ACCC separately noted it was alerted by consumer complaints and continues to pursue misleading pricing practices.