The Commerce Commission has directed retailer PD Mart, formerly Panda Mart, to stop selling car seats due to safety concerns.
The regulator will investigate possible misleading labelling that might have incorrectly stated the products met car seat safety standards.
PD Mart has launched a recall of all impacted car seats. The details have also been made available on the Product Safety website.
“The Commission has zero tolerance for risks to children’s safety,” competition, fair trading and credit general manager Vanessa Horne said.
ComCom said it has an ongoing investigation into PD Mart following safety concerns related to multiple products.
“During this investigation, we also identified issues with car seats, which feature labels claiming compliance with recognised safety standards – claims the Commission believes may be false or misleading.”
“We consider this likely to be a breach of the Fair Trading Act, and consumers may have been misled into believing the products were compliant with safety standards, when that is likely not the case.”
Initial evaluations by the Commerce Commission showed that the car seats did not fully comply with safety standards.
The Commission noted that some car seats were missing proper installation instructions, which it described as a “critical omission.”
Horne said failing to provide essential information on installation and use can lead to serious consequences.