Lifestyle Sports and DID Electrical plead guilty to breaking sales pricing legislation

Eva Osborne

Lifestyle Sports (Ireland), DID Electrical Appliances, and Rath-Wood Home & Garden all pled guilty to breaking sales pricing legislation in Dublin District Court on Monday morning.

The three retailers were ordered to pay €1,000 each to the Little Flower Penny Dinners charity and to pay the costs of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

Prosecutions were brought by the CCPC against Lifestyle Sports, DID Electrical, and Rath-Wood following online sweeps conducted over the 2023-2024 winter sales season, including Black Friday.

These are the first prosecutions under new sales pricing legislation introduced in 2022.

The new law requires traders to base any discount on the lowest price in at least the previous 30 days, and to display this price clearly on any price tag or advertisement.

A number of other traders have been investigated and further prosecutions may follow, the CCPC said.

CCPC chair Brian McHugh said: “Misleading sale discounts harm consumers and harm competition. It is vital that traders are transparent with consumers, displaying prices clearly and accurately.

“Businesses must be able to compete openly and honestly, and consumers must be able to shop with confidence.”

The cases were before Judge Anthony Halpin on Monday in Court 8 of Dublin Metropolitan District.

The CCPC said it can provide no further comment at this time.