Regulator to prosecute Methven over ad

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IN HOT WATER: Methven is in hot water over adverts for its Satinjet twin jet shower technology.

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Methven is in hot water over adverts for its Satinjet twin jet shower technology.

Methven said the Commerce Commission today advised it intended to prosecute Methven under the Fair Trading Act for allegedly making misleading claims in advertising the technology.

The complaint, understood to be initiated by a competitor, related to the extent of water savings by the Satinjet technology over conventional showers, Methven said.

The claims made were intended to be indicative of savings achievable for showers connected to mains pressures where that system provided flow rates of 20 litres per minute.

Satinjet could deliver the savings claimed, compared to a conventional shower run on mains pressure, provided the flow rate reaches 20 litres per minute, Methven New Zealand chief executive Gary Nel said.

"Flow rates across households in New Zealand do however vary and those households on low pressure systems may never reach a flow rate of 20 litres per minute."

Methven was disappointed with the decision to prosecute.

"We have cooperated fully with all aspects of the investigation, voluntarily recalling and altering all advertising and marketing material in advance of any decision," Mr Nel said.

NZPA