If you can't prove it, don't say it

Hard to believe this type of stuff still goes on...

Canada’s Competition Bureau this week announced a settlement with Beiersdorf Canada Inc., after accusing it of using false and misleading claims to sell its Slimming and Reshaping Gel Cream.

The company will pay a $300,000 penalty. It must also repay customers who purchased the $15.99 cream, and remove the products from store shelves.

According to the Montreal Gazette, Beiersdorf Canada says it “entered into the consent agreement with the Competition Bureau” to address the agency's concerns, but does not accept the bureau’s views. It says all of its performance claims are supported by independent research.

The announcement followed a $900,000 settlement in June involving Nivea's My Silhouette with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Lisa Campbell, deputy commissioner of the bureau's fair business practices branch, told the Gazette that: "Ads are sometimes designed to target people's vulnerabilities, and so we try to be active in those areas to send a strong message to businesses: Don't take advantage of consumers to try and falsely drive their choices towards your product."

On its packaging and its website, Nivea's My Silhouette stated that the use of the cream could lead to a "reduction of up to 3 centimetres on targeted body parts, such as thighs, hips, waist and stomach." Beiersdorf also said the product could make the skin more toned and elastic, according to the bureau.

Campbell said the company failed to conduct adequate, verifiable tests to back up its claims.

Under the terms of the consent agreement, Beiersdorf is required to publish a corrective notice on Nivea's Canadian website and in major Canadian newspapers, and to pay $80,000 to cover the bureau's costs.

The company also faces a class-action lawsuit in Canada.

You can read the full story here.

Clearly, Beiersdorf needs a new approach to business – as well as new management.