Kiwi sports good retailer Torpedo7 has been fined $80,000 under the Fair Trading Act for selling bikes without front brakes in 2017.
The retailer, owned by the Warehouse Group Limited, advertised Hang-Ten Cruiser bikes on its 1-Day website between October 4 and November 17, 2017.
According to the Commerce Commission, the retailer sold 53 of the bikes in this period.
However, the bikes had a number of compliance issues, the most egregious of which was not having any front brakes.
Other issues noted by the Commerce Commission were:
• They were not marked with the manufacturer, importer or supplier’s details.
• The owner’s manual did not provide all required torque settings and advice on use of a torque wrench.
• The manual did not include warnings regarding increased braking distance in the wet, replacement of handle bar grips and the rake of any replacement fork.
During sentencing at the Hamilton District Court today Judge Roberts said Torpedo7's conduct was “highly culpable and a deterrent sentence is required”.
“The fact that no harm actually registered misses the point. The bikes were an accident waiting to happen. The latent risk was always there,” he said.
General manager of the 1-Day website Greg Bell told 1 NEWS "1-day is a separate trading division of Torpedo7 and sells a variety of products at incredible prices sourced from all around the world. In this case a bike (Hang Ten Cruiser) sourced from an international market failed to meet the New Zealand safety standard.
"Customer safety is of paramount importance to us and we take our responsibilities under the Fair Trading Act seriously. Since the sale of these bikes we have improved our processes and policies to ensure the applicable safety standard is always met.
"The bikes in question have nothing to do with any bikes sold by the Torpedo7 brand and were a one off deal where Hang Ten Cruiser bikes were sold.
"A recall of the bikes was carried out on 1 December 2017 and all affected customers were contacted."
Consumers who purchased one of the affected bicycles should contact Torpedo7 via its 1-day.co.nz website.
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