Baby City hit with $39k fine over baby cots

Baby City Retail Investments Limited was sentenced in Auckland District Court yesterday for six charges brought by the Commerce Commission.

An infant supplies retailer has been fined $39,000 for selling cots which failed to comply with packaging and labelling requirements.

Baby City Retail Investments Limited was sentenced in Auckland District Court yesterday for six charges brought by the Commerce Commission.

All charges relate to two models of Baby City's household cots: the Milano 3-in-1 Sleigh-style cot and the Milano Phoenix cot. These were sold between October 2014 and October 2015.

In January last year the company issued a product safety notice for the cots so that it could provide customers with an instruction booklet to repair defects. It had not received any reports of injury or harm due to either cot.

Commerce Commission competition general manager Antonia Horrocks said it was extremely important that people purchasing a cot received all the information they needed to ensure they were assembled correctly, maintained adequately and safe for a baby or toddler to use.

"In this case the information leaflets for both cots were missing important safety information. This included the need to place the cot a reasonable distance from power points, and an incomplete warning on the necessary mattress size."

Horrocks said that this case should remind traders - retailers and distributors - of their obligations when supplying products that are subject to safety standards.

"Businesses must have the correct procedures in place to ensure their products comply with the appropriate safety standard and that they are routinely tested. This includes retesting to confirm their cots meet the relevant standard every time the manufacturing specifications change or if a problem arises," she said.

The commission said Baby City had agreed to carry out a series of testing and quality control procedures designed to ensure that its cots complied with the safety standards.