The Commerce Commission says it has filed 45 charges Bunnings over what it says was misleading advertising by the company.

The charges were laid in Auckland District Court against Bunnings New Zealand Ltd alleging it misled consumers by advertising the prices of its goods as being the lowest in the market.

Bunnings has long traded on a policy of having the lowest prices on its product and that if a competitor had a lower price on the same item, it would beat that price by 15%.

The Commission alleges that Bunnings’ advertising at its stores nationwide along with advertising campaigns on television, radio, online, and in newspapers and catalogues gave an overall impression that it offered the lowest prices for its products, when this was not true.

Its investigation focused on the trading period 1 July 2014 to 28 February 2016.

The Commission says as the case is before the Court, it cannot comment any further except that the matter will be called in the District Court for the first time on 7 March 2017.

Bunnings is one of New Zealand’s largest retailers, selling home improvement, outdoor living and general merchandise products. It has 46 retail stores nationwide, all of which it owns and operates. It employs 3,700 staff and stores stock on average 46,000 product lines.