Bicycles risked ‘serious harm’
Online retailer Container Door has been fined $54,000 for selling unsafe bicycles, following a Commerce Commission investigation.
The fine followed an earlier guilty plea by the retailer on two representative charges under the Fair Trading Act for supplying bikes that did not meet the mandatory safety regulations.
A commission probe found that between April and November 2017, Container Door sold 15 Huffy Cruiser bicycles which lacked front brakes.
The bicycles were also sold without required information such as the importer’s or supplier’s details.
Customers also weren’t told that the bicycles needed to be assembled by a skilled mechanic.
At the sentencing in the Auckland District Court on January 20, Judge David Sharp said it was ‘‘highly careless’’ offending.
‘‘Cyclists are vulnerable. To supply bicycles that do not comply with safety standards is something I regard as serious.’’
He noted that Container Door had co-operated with the commission and did everything that could reasonably be asked in relation to recalling the bicycles.
Container Door sought a discharge without conviction but Judge Sharp declined, saying the consequences of a conviction were not out of proportion to the gravity of the offending.
The commission’s general manager of the competition and consumer branch, Antonia Horrocks, said it was important for traders to know their legal obligations and to operate compliance programmes that ensured they complied with the law.
‘‘Container Door was supplying bikes that put riders, pedestrians and road users at risk of serious harm because there was no front brake. This impeded a rider’s ability to stop and control their bike.’’
Container Door recalled the bicycles after being contacted by the commission. Of the 15 sold, 10 were returned, three customers wished to keep their bike and one did not respond.
One other bike was supplied to Container Door’s owner.
Consumers who purchased one of the affected bicycles should contact Container Door, a commission spokesman said.