ACCC v Superfone

It is always a shame when regulatory action drives a genuine business out of business.

Here was a very small business which made some mistakes, admitted those mistakes and then sought to come to a settlement which would have allowed the business to continue trading and servicing its 1200 customers.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. The ACCC asked for a penalty of $400,000 plus redress which equated to 44% of the small business’s annual turnover and more than 80 times its net profit.

The ACCC ended up getting a penalty of $300,000 plus redress which equated to 34% of the small business’s annual turnover and more than 60 times its net profit. The ACCC was also awarded costs.

Definitely no winners here!

NB: I represented the company in the ACCC investigation and litigation. I did the litigation on a pro bono basis.