Boots Ireland pleads guilty over price displays
Retailer Boots Ireland has pleaded guilty to breaking sales-pricing legislation in Dublin District Court this morning (26 May) in a case taken by the consumer-protection watchdog.
Judge Anthony Halpin ordered the pharmacy and beauty chain to pay €1,000 to the Little Flower Penny Dinners charity and to pay the costs of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
Section 1(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act is to be applied upon compliance with the court order.
Discounts
The CCPC brought the prosecution after online sweeps conducted over the 2023-2024 winter sales season – including Black Friday.
The case is part of the first wave of prosecutions under sales-pricing legislation introduced in 2022. Lifestyle Sports, DID Electrical, and Rath-Wood also pleaded guilty to breaking sales-pricing legislation in March of this year.
The law requires traders to base any discount on the lowest price in at least the previous 30 days, and to display this price clearly on any price tag or advertisement.
Brian McHugh, chair of the CCPC, said that misleading sale discounts harmed consumers and competition.