0/5

Today Tonight story triggers court action

Hire car company launches legal action after a Today Tonight story claimed it was charging customers for damage they had not caused.

Hire car company Europcar has launched Supreme Court action against the Seven Network after a Today Tonight story that claimed it was charging them for damage they had not caused to vehicles.

The story on January 5 claimed customers in three states were charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars for damage they had not caused.

Europcar said the claims had been ”found to be baseless” and is seeking damages.

But Today Tonight executive producer Craig McPherson told Fairfax Newspapers that since the story aired others have come forward and a follow-up story is planned.

“We are aware of the claim and we’ll be defending it,” he said.

16 Responses

  1. The Media Watch program on ABC often references this Today/Tonight yet Port Macquarie residents fail to receive a show 300km up the coast. Instead we get another edition of drivel passed off as news without the spice or controversial nature offered by TT!

  2. The supposed TT and ACA Outline:
    – TT Give compassion to someone doing misdeeds’.
    – ACA Give shame to someone doing misdeeds’.
    This can be reversed to TT giving shame and ACA giving compassion.

    You can also hit the nerve centre of a major corporation’s shame or wrongdoing and almost every time you hit, they head for court to injunct the impending or follow up story. This basically suggests major corporations don’t like tarnished images.

    I see many stories being played 3 or 4 times within a 9-15 month period. Almost identical to the last playing. You wonder when they suggest something like “TT or ACA will try and get a story on this”, they do nothing. And if it airs it’s “past used by date”. It has no relevance to “current affairs”.

    The viewer is the real “Aussie battler”; who has to battle with their journalism techniques. We might want to injunct them until they get “Current affairs” up.

  3. And tonight both ACA and TT had “Exclusive” stories on Refund Home Loans at exactly the same time. Interesting to see the different spin put on the story by 9 compared to 7. Then they both followed with a rehash of the foreign fruit juice piece. Next was a promo for some new show or whatever.

  4. @JohnnyBravo-My point is that the label on the Nescafe jar is identical to the local product. The contents are not. The only advice that it’s a “fake”, as in, not genuine Australian Nescafe blend, is a tiny sticker on the back of the jar, which very few people see or read until after they’ve bought it. And yes, it is reeeeeally different in taste. I thought there was some Consumer Affairs law about “passing off”.
    ACA & TT are to “news and current affairs” as That’s Life and OK are to Time magazine. One’s for concocted trash and advertorials disguised as a “story”. The other’s actual news and current affairs.

  5. Wasn’t it about a week ago ACA dished up a story of a rental car company charging a customer for the damage caused during the Melb hail storms? You’d swear these 2 shows were one and the same most nights..

  6. @Kenny hmmm but the Coffee in Aldi and the Coke at United, are not “Fakes” they are authentic products which are imported from other regions and produced under licence or by the actual companies themselves.
    its just hey are from a different market that has a different cost structure so they can be sold cheaper. They do have different recipies to cater for different markets.
    Thats why the injunction was sort.

  7. @Dan-The point of the story was rental car companies charging credit cards for damage not caused by the renter. Having used rental cars for 40 years and being stung too many times for damage caused in the carpark after I returned the car I now have a separate bank account with a Visa debit card which has only enough at any time to pay rental charges. The balance is then zeroed until I next need it. My bank has instructions to not overdraw or setoff. I now phone and ask for someone to come out and inspect the car before I leave it. If they won’t then I write so on the contract copy when returning it. Funny thing is – no claims for a long, long time now.
    @Kaylen-Like to see them do a story on Aldi selling fake Nescafe coffee. A tiny sticker on the back says “This is an imported product. Taste may differ to Local Produce”. Sure does. Bit late after you’ve discovered the sticker a week later.

  8. Huh. This is the second legal action against TT in as many weeks.

    Last week, it was United Petroleum with TTs story about selling fake Coca-Cola at their service stations, etcetera (Which UP won and got an injunction against 7 playing the story).

    Maybe it’s a weekly occurrence that we don’t hear about? 😉

    Wouldn’t surprise me TBH.

  9. In my experience, rental car companies are difficult to deal with at the best of times. So I welcome more scrutiny and change in that industry. Though Today Tonight also isn’t thought of as being a reputable current affairs program too.

Leave a Reply