TWO leading hearing aid retailers have been fined $2.5 million for misleading pensioners.
Oticon Australia and Sonic Innovations were ordered by the Federal Court to pay the penalties after the brands misled pensioners through newspaper advertisements for hearing aids sold by AudioClinic and HearingLife clinics.
Oticon and Sonic admitted these advertisements, published 85 times nationally from June to November 2017, contained three false and misleading representations about hearing aids available to pensioners under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program.
These included adding a deadline for pensioners to book a hearing test at an AudioClinic or HearingLife hearing clinic in order to get a free hearing aid when there was no time limit.
The brands also claimed the free hearing aids included wireless technology that would allow users to connect them to digital devices like telephones and mobile phones, but this was only with additional accessories which were sold separately at extra cost.
Users were also told the advertised hearing aid would help them to no longer miss conversations, but this depends on a person’s individual circumstances and the nature of their hearing impairment.
“Many of the pensioners targeted by the advertisements were vulnerable due to their age and hearing loss,” said the Australian Competition and Consumers Commission’s Sarah Court.
“The misleading representations by Sonic and Oticon created a false sense of urgency for these consumers to book a hearing test and led them into a sales process based on incorrect information.
“The decision from the Federal Court sends a strong message to the hearing aid industry about the importance of ensuring all representations to consumers are accurate and not misleading.”
The claims over the historic ads came to light following an ACCC investigation this year.
Australian Hearing Services was also hit with a $37,800 penalty as part of the commission’s investigation into the industry.
Oticon and Sonic sold more than 10,000 of the advertised Oticon Ria2 and Sonic Cheer20 hearing aids.
In addition to paying penalties of $2.5 million, the court ordered by consent that Sonic and Oticon offer refunds to customers who bought ConnectLine and SoundGate3 accessories, publish a corrective notice in a nationally circulated newspaper, and establish an Australian Consumer Law compliance program.
Oticon and Sonic are owned and operated by William Demant Holdings, which operates more than 200 hearing clinics across Australia, including the AudioClinic, HearingLife, Western Hearing Services and Adelaide Digital Hearing Solutions brands.
Action accepted
In a statement, William Demant Holdings said it had accepted the penalties.
“The ACCC’s investigation did not uncover any evidence that HearingLife and AudioClinic planned to intentionally deceive or mislead any consumer,” the statement said.
“There is also no evidence that these historic advertisements caused any damage to any consumer.
“Testament to customer interaction with our clinics during this historic advertisement period more than 1200 customers reported back a 98 per cent customer satisfaction rating of our services and hearing healthcare by our qualified clinicians.”
The company’s managing director of retail Janet Muir said the brands were committed to ensuring that the reputation of hearing healthcare treatment for all Australians is held in the highest regard.
“We have the utmost respect for older Australians."
- Janet Muir.
“Our clients can be confident the ACCC matter only relates to historic advertising,” Ms Muir said.
“There have been no questions about our clinical hearing health care, or the care that our clients experience in our clinics.
“We have the utmost respect for older Australians, and we are committed to ensuring that they are supported in their desire to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Each client’s clinical care is fundamental to our healthcare approach and is not part of the ACCC’s concerns.”
Read the full statement HERE.