Vehicle repair company Ultra Tune fined $1.5m for contempt of court in biggest fine brought by ACCC

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered one of Australia’s largest vehicle repair franchisers to pay $1.5 million for refusing to comply with court orders in the biggest fine issued over contempt of court in proceedings with the national watchdog. Ultra Tune Australia was slapped with the whopping fine after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took it to court for what Justice Robert Bromwich said was its insufficient concern for court orders. The ACCC said the company had not implemented its court-ordered compliance program nor adhering to injunctions that would prevent further breaches of Australian Consumer Law and the Franchising Code. The orders were a result of proceedings brought against Ultra Tune in 2017 — which ended with the company being fined more than $2.6m over its conduct. The fine was later reduced to $2m on appeal. The ACCC found Ultra Tune had breached the code after submitting several marketing fund and disclosure documents significantly later than ordered, as well as misleading a prospective franchisee. Ultra Tune has more than 260 centres across Australia in every mainland State and Territory. It was ordered by the Federal Court to provide disclosure documents and marketing fund statements to franchisees in compliance with the code, as well as “implement a compliance program” that would reduce the risk of future breaches. But the national watchdog was again forced to bring proceedings against the car servicing franchiser in 2022, alleging it had failed to comply with the orders, putting it in contempt of court. The court was told Ultra Tune failed to update its disclosure document on time on one occasion and twice failed to prepare its marketing fund statement on time — with one of these statements almost eight months late. Justice Robert Bromwich said the contempt charges “were not out of character for Ultra Tune, but in fact a reflection of its corporate character”. He said the company was “insufficiently concerned with ... compliance, even when it came to court orders”. It brings the total amount of money Ultra Tune has been fined for breaking consumer law to more than $3.5m. ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said the timely submission of marketing fund statements was vital so “franchisees receive this important information when it is of most use to them”. “The ACCC took this action because it was concerned that Ultra Tune had failed to improve its compliance with the requirements of the Franchising Code despite previous ACCC action and court-imposed penalties,” Ms Carver said. “These fines for contempt demonstrate the importance of compliance with court orders.”

Vehicle repair company Ultra Tune fined $1.5m for contempt of court in biggest fine brought by ACCC

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