Order to cease false advertising vacated; website displaying potential fuel savings alongside purchase price not misleading.
The appellant, a motor vehicle dealer selling electric vehicles, appealed an Order to Cease False Advertising issued by the Registrar under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002.
The Registrar alleged that the appellant's website was misleading because it deducted unrealized future fuel savings from the vehicle's purchase price, presenting an unattainable point-of-sale price.
The Licence Appeal Tribunal found that, from the perspective of a credulous and inexperienced consumer, the repeated use of terms like 'savings', 'future', and 'potential' alongside the actual purchase price was easily understood.
The Tribunal concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe the website was false, misleading, or deceptive, and vacated the Registrar's order.
OLATOntario Licence Appeal TribunalJan 28, 2021
