Water company Kiwipure pleads not guilty to 8 ComCom charges over claims about water filters

Kiwipure denies it made false claims about its water filter systems. Photo / Facebook

Water filter company Kiwipure has pleaded not guilty to eight charges brought by the Commerce Commission over its water filter claims.

The Commerce Commission alleges Kiwipure made unsubstantiated claims about the benefits and ability of its water filters to soften water.

Claims by Kiwipure include benefits of what consumers could expect from using soft water its filteration systems create, such as "no scum build-up", "use less washing powder" and "no scale build-up in hot water systems and pipes saves electricity and maintenance".

It also claimed that its water filters could reduce the severity of skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis, including on its Facebook page.

The eight charges were filed in the Auckland District Court under the Fair Trading Act and relate to claims made between February 2015 and May 2018 on Kiwipure's website, to customers and in promotional materials such as on social media.

Photo / Screenshot / Facebook

Kiwipure said it had not received any complaints.

"We believe that all our 400 odd customers are pleased with what they have got and have never been given wrong information.

"Kiwipure has always had a policy that if any customer is unhappy with the product's performance then they can return it and get a full refund. So far since 2011 to today no one has taken up the offer.

"The CC has never asked us about our substantiation on seven of the charges. We have been charged without having a right of proving our substantiation of our product.

"One of the charges is a delinquent charge saying that we cannot substantiate the need to put a filter before ceramic mixers in the water supply line. This has been standard practice in the plumbing world for the last forty years and is clearly spelt out in installation guides on ceramic mixers," Kiwipure told the Herald.

Under the Fair Trading Act, businesses must have reasonable grounds for making a claim at the time that the claim is made.

The commission said it could not comment because the matter was before the court.

Kiwipure began selling its household water filtration systems, which use magnets to alter the properties of water, in 2011.