In Harcourts v Commerce Commission, what claim was raised regarding the advertisement's statement 'not a cent to spend'?

In the case of Harcourts v Commerce Commission, the central issue regarding the advertisement's statement "not a cent to spend" was that it misled potential buyers about the actual condition of the homes being sold. The phrase implied that the homes were in perfect condition and did not require any additional financial investment or repairs. However, the reality was that many of these properties did indeed require financial input for maintenance or repairs, which contradicted the representation made in the advertisement.

Consumer law places a significant emphasis on ensuring that advertisements do not create false impressions that can lead consumers to make uninformed purchasing decisions. In this context, the statement failed to provide an accurate depiction of the properties, thereby leading consumers to believe they were making a better financial decision than they actually were. This aspect of misleading advertising is crucial in understanding how companies must present their products and services truthfully, ensuring that consumers are not led into misleading situations where they assume there are no hidden costs or necessary expenditures involved.

Other options do not capture the essence of the misleading nature of the advertisement. While the advertisement may have been true in other respects or unrelated to certain factors, the heart of the issue lay within the misleading representation of the home's condition, which directly impacted consumer trust and decision