Multiple pricing – information for businesses

Avoiding multiple pricing

Multiple pricing occurs when a business displays more than one price for the same item or service. If this happens, you must sell it for the lowest displayed price or withdraw the item until the price is corrected.

If a price is published in a catalogue or advertisement, it’s a displayed price. These mistakes can be fixed by publishing a retraction in a publication with a similar circulation to the original advertisement.

Component pricing

You cannot promote or state a price that is only part of the cost, unless you also prominently advertise the single (total) price. A service that allows periodic payments does not have to display a single price as prominently as the component prices. This applies to the supply and promotion of goods or services usually used for personal, domestic or household use or consumption.

The single price must be:

• clear at the time of the sale
• as prominent as the most prominent component of the price.

The single price is the total of all measurable costs and includes:

• any charge payable, and
• the amount of any tax, duty, fee, levy or charges (for example, GST).