Retailers warned over small print

The Commerce Commission is warning retailers not to use small print to hide the truth about promotions after Borders recently was caught out for the practice.

Any additions made in the small print should not materially alter the terms of any offer.

"If the overall impression given by a promotion or advertisement is misleading, it risks breaching the Fair Trading Act no matter what information is provided in the fine print," commission fair trading manager Greg Allan said.

Borders was issued a warning following a promotion run in November and December which claimed customers would "receive $20 in vouchers for every $75 you spend at Borders until Christmas".

The deal enticed a number of customers who hadn't noticed the small print which specified that only one $10 voucher could be redeemed in January and a second in February.

"The commission received complaints from consumers saying that they felt misled as they had spent the required amount believing they could get a $20 discount for one purchase," Mr Allan said.

"We are pleased that Borders will honour the vouchers for a $20 discount for one purchase and they will continue to honour the vouchers beyond (February)."

He said it was common marketing practice for businesses to run voucher promotions and, while no further action would be taken, the warning issued to Borders should be noted by other sellers.