© COMMERCE WELLINGTON COMMISSION Level 6,44 The Terrace NEW ZEALAND PO Box 2351, Wellington 6140, New Zealand Tok-9644924 3600 Te KonitanaTevokohoko 10 October 2018 aucKtano Love 13, $5 Shortland Street PO Box 10-222, Auckland 1242 Zoe Irons ~ General Manager New Zealand Speedway New Zealand Tek-064 4924 3600 ‘wwww.comecom,govt.nz By email only: manager@speedway.co.nz Dear Ms Irons, Information regarding potentially unsafe racing suits 1 We are writing to advise you of the outcome of one of our investigations that is of relevance to you. The Commerce Commission (the Commission) has been investigating the sale of certain ‘Sparco’ branded racing suits under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (the Act). The suits were advertised and sold via the mrbo.co.nz website and on TradeMe using the accounts “cheese3015” and “tcbwholesale”. In summary, the Commission considers that the advertising listings of the racing suits contained representations which are likely to have breached the Act. In particular, representations that the racing suits were “Fireproof” and “FIA 8856-2000 Rated” are likely to be misleading under the Act because testing carried out by the Commission indicates that they were neither. Asa result of our investigation we have issued a warning letter to the trader involved, this warning letter can be found at https://comcom.govt.nz/case- register/case-register-entries/mrbo.co.nz. Further information about the Commission's investigation is detailed below. It is possible that competitors in events sanctioned by your body purchased a suit from the mrbo.co.nz website or from the “cheese3015” or “tcbwholesale” Trade Me accounts. We are writing to provide information to assist you in identifying such suits. The investigation 5. During our investigation, we considered whether representations made in the advertising of racing suits offered for supply on the mrbo.co.nz website and on the “cheese3015” and “tcbwholesale” Trade Me accounts were misleading. In particular we investigated representations that the suits were: 5.1 “Sparco” products; 5.2 “Fireproof”; and 5.3 “FIA8856-2000 Rated”. 3328352110. 12. The Commission obtained a racing suit purchased from the mrbo.co.nz website (the Sample Suit). The Sample Suit is a black, Sparco branded racing suit, a photograph is included at Attachment A. Sparco base: product. a well-established worldwide brand of racing suits and safety equipment Italy. Sparco have confirmed that the Sample Suit is not a genuine Sparco The Commission is aware that numerous suits of a si icantly similar design were supplied through the mrbo.co.nz website and the “cheese3015” and “tcbwholesale” Trade Me accounts. We understand that these were all sourced from the same supplier. Our enquiries also indicate that the supplier, Guangzhou Volson Auto ‘Accessories Co. Ltd, is not an authorised Sparco dealer. The Commission has made a number of observations regarding the sample suit which we believe identify that the Sample Suit is not a genuine Sparco product; these observations are detailed at Attachment B. The Commission had the sample suit tested by an FIA approved test house in accordance with the Standard 8856-2000 (the Standard). The results showed that the sample suit comprehensively failed to meet the requirements of the Standard and may be unsuitable for certain types of Motorsport. A more detailed explanation of these failures and the subsequent lack of suitability for certain motorsports is provided in Attachment C. Suggested action 11. The Commission has contacted consumers who purchased suits from the “cheese3015” and “tcbwholesale” Trade Me accounts to advise them of our concerns. However, we do not have an accurate record of the sales made from the mrbo.co.nz website. It is therefore possible that some consumers are unaware of the risks associated with their suits. ‘As a sanctioning body for motorsport events, we are providing you with the information contained in this letter in order that you, or officials under your control, are able to identify such suits. Further information 13. Please contact me on 09 919 4442 or by email at grant.mcintosh@comcom.govt.nz if you have any questions about this letter. Yours sincerel oo weeded Grant Mcintosh Senior x22 InvestigatorAttachment A - Sample suit photographs Photograph 1: Full suit, front view Photograph 2: Collar label detail, noting 8856-2000 standard and associated homologation number, RS.245.13 ‘peasCEUr-0072 gi, EPIDE! Photograph 5: Inner Left-hand side label, including apparent spelling and grammatical errors. 3328352.1Attachment B - Observations regarding the Sample Si 14, 33283521 The Commi: n has made the following observations indicate that the Sample Suit is not a genuine Sparco product: 14.1 14.2 ‘The collar and inner right-hand-side labelling on the sample suit include apparently contradictory information: 14.1.1 The collar label notes the standard “FIA8856-2000" and the homologation number “RS.245.13” which applies to a Sparco R538 race suit. 14.1.2 The inner right-hand-side label notes “Mod. K28” which relate to a previous model of CIK-FIA Sparco karting suit, 14.1.3 We understand that the standards applied to karting overalls and car racing overalls are neither comparable nor interchangeable. The inner left-hand-side labelling of the suit contains a number of apparent spelling and grammatical errors, including: 14.2.1 “IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THE USER'S HANDBOO CONCERNING THE CARE OF THIS GARMENT” 14.2.2 “THIS SUIT WILL OFFER PROTECTION FROM FIRE AND THE ‘TRANSMOSSION OF HEAT FOR A LIMITED TIME, BUT IT DOES NOT OFFER TOTAL PROTECTION AGAINST ANY KIND OF HEAT OR HE ATOR FIRE.” 14.2.3 “THE FABRIC USED TO MAKE THIS SUITIS SUBJECT TO AGING”Attachment C — Det: Is of failure FIA 8856-2000 & fireproof representations 15. 16. 17. The Standard requires a maximum permitted “mean after flame time” of only two seconds. This means that the flame must self-extinguish in less than two seconds. Also, no flaming debris, molten debris or holes can be formed during the test. The results showed that the sample suit exceeded the maximum allowable flame self-extinguishing time and produced flaming and molten debris, The tester’s opinion was that sample suit could not be accurately described as, “fireproof”, “flame resistant”, or “fire retardant”. Specific use representations 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 33283524 Additionally, we note that some of the suits sold on the mrbo.co.nz website and on. the “cheese3015” and “tcbwholesale” Trade Me accounts also represented that they were “Ideal for Rally, Speedway, Circuit, Drag, Jetsprint, Ministocks, Midgets, Saloon, Spritcars, drifting, Streetstocks, superstock, stockcars”. Motorsport New Zealand (MSNZ) specifies that “Clothing made of flammable material (e.g. nylon or similar synthetics) is not approved”. Similarly, Speedway New Zealand (SNZ) notes that “nylon is banned”. A fibre identification test on the Sample Suit identified the inner lining of the suit as polyester. We have been informed that polyester is, like nylon, a thermoplastic synthetic fibre, and as such may not be suitable for motorsport governed by MSNZ and SNZ. Other motorsport governing bodies in New Zealand, including The New Zealand Drag Racing Association (NZDRA), the International Hot Rod Association New Zealand (IHRA) and the New Zealand Jetsprint Association (NZJSA) have general requirements requiring the use of “fireproof”, “fire resistant”, or “fire retardant” claims on suits. ‘As noted above, the tester’s opinion was that the Sample Suit cannot be accurately described as “fireproof”, “flame resistant”, or “fire retardant”.