Booktopia ordered to pay $6m over refund claims

The Federal Court has ordered online bookseller Booktopia to pay a $6 million fine after the retailer told customers between 2020 and 2021 that they were only entitled to a refund for faulty items if they notified the company within two business days of delivery.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched court action against Booktopia in December 2021, alleging the business made false and misleading statements in its online “terms of business” between January 2020 and November 2021 about when a shopper could get a refund or return items.

These claims included that Booktopia was not obliged to provide a refund for incorrect or faulty orders unless the shopper had notified the business within two working days of receiving the order, and that they were not entitled to a refund for digital products such as eBooks for any reason, even if the product was faulty.

On Friday, the Federal Court ordered Booktopia to pay total penalties of $6 million, as well as publishing a note on its website acknowledging a contravention of Australian consumer law and that the business establish a consumer law compliance program.

Booktopia also acknowledged that 19 consumers were told during customer service calls that the company was not obliged to provide a refund or replacement if the shopper had not raised the issue with Booktopia within two days.

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In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Booktopia said the statements about refunds had been removed at the start of November 2021. The company acknowledged the statements were not correct or compliant with Australian consumer law.

“Booktopia takes its obligations under the Australian consumer law and its commitment to customer service very seriously and has cooperated with the ACCC throughout the process,” chairman Peter George said.

“We are glad to put this behind us and to continue to serve Australian customers with the book-buying experience they have known and loved for many years.”