Probitas Ltd made false claims about the benefits of their fertiliser. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A Waihi fertiliser company and its director have been convicted and fined for a second time for making misleading claims under the Fair Trading Act.
Probitas Ltd and Ewan Campbell were each fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $2520 in costs in Auckland District Court last week.
They
were found guilty on four charges of making false and misleading representations about the alleged benefits of the product Probitas.
The representations were made in a video presentation promoting Probitas to farmers.
Probitas consists of natural ingredients including sea clays, soft shell-based lime, paramagnetic rock and iron sand.
Farmers and horticulturists pay $300-$350 per tonne for Probitas, which Campbell told them would activate the electrical and magnetic processes in the soil.
But an expert witness Dr Doug Edmeades told the court there was no scientific basis for the way Probitas was supposed to work.
Judge Callander said he accepted that Dr Edmeades was a pre-eminent soil scientist with a wealth of experience.
The judge noted the implausible claims made by Mr Campbell on the video and said the evidence "destroys each of the primary arguments advanced on the video piece by piece".
This year Probitas was fined $200,000 and Campbell $60,000 for making similar claims in brochures, on a promotional CD and in person.
The charges dealt with in this latest hearing were not dealt with earlier, as Campbell declined to have all charges heard together.
Campbell failed to appear at this second hearing and a formal proof hearing was held.
Judge Callander, who also presided over the first trial, noted that video is a particularly powerful form of advertising and included a degree of scaremongering.
After the hearing Commerce Commission chair Paula Rebstock said the fertiliser industry was an important part of the New Zealand economy.
"It is crucial that farmers can trust the claims made about fertiliser. It is a major cost in their business, and they need to know they are getting what they are promised."
- NZPA
