Motor firm fined for advertising disclosure failure

ABC Motor Group has been convicted of breaching the Fair Trading Act for the second time in three years for failing to adequately disclose important conditions in advertising.

The company yesterday pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court to 10 charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act.

Judge Anne Kiernan fined the company $31,000 plus $2800 costs and fees, saying the offending involved a "particularly brazen breach with all the appearance of being deliberate and in full knowledge of its legal obligations".

The charges, laid by the Commerce Commission, related to full-page and double-page ads placed by the group in The Motor Buyers' Guide between June and August last year.