Kiwipure Ltd has been fined $162,000 for making unsubstantiated claims about the benefits and effectiveness of its magnetic water filtration system.

The Commerce Commission says it’s the first defended case in New Zealand against a trader accused of making unsubstantiated representations.

Kiwipure was found guilty on seven charges under the Fair Trading Act 1986 for conduct that occurred between 2015 and 2018.

The commission says Kiwipure claimed the benefits of its “world’s first” magnetic water filtration system were “scientifically proven”. However, it did not test its product using reliable scientific methods; instead it relied on anecdotal evidence and assumptions when making the claims. 

Kiwipure claimed that:

• A magnetic ‘virtual ioniser’ in its water filtration system softened water,
• The benefits that consumers could expect of soft water after using the water filter, were ‘no scum build up’, ‘use less washing powder’ and ‘no scale build-up in hot water systems and pipes saves electricity and maintenance’,
• Use of the water filter would lead to a “reduction in skin irritations and eczema”.

The commission reports that, in sentencing in the Auckland District Court, Judge Gibson said: “There was a reasonably high degree of carelessness” and “the need to have the product scientifically tested ought to have been obvious and there was a conscious decision not to do that”. 

Commission chair Anna Rawlings says the case is an important precedent for the commission. 

“Businesses must be able to back up any advertising claims they make about goods and services at the time they are making them. This means having evidence, research, test results, consumer surveys or similar credible information to demonstrate that their claims have a solid foundation. Traders are not permitted to advertise using guesses, supposition, anecdotal evidence, assumptions and unsupported opinions.

“Consumers are entitled to rely on trader claims when making purchasing decisions,” she says. 

In October 2018, HRV Clean Water Limited (HRV) was fined $440,000 after pleading guilty to making unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of the Kiwipure water filters and for making misleading claims about the quality of New Zealand’s home water supply. 

Hard water versus soft water   

Hard water is the term used to describe water containing high levels of minerals. When water contains high levels of minerals, it tends to deposit these minerals onto surfaces – often referred to as “scale”. Hard water can also make soap form a scum on surfaces. Conventional methods of treating hard water (reverse osmosis and ion exchange) involve removing the minerals from water which cause it to be hard. The result is softer water and reduced scale, or scum build up.