PRICE INCREASES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 6

PRICE INCREASES

THE REGULATIONS INFRINGED WELLINGTON FIRM FINED (PA.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 5. , Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd., were fined £25 and costs to-day for breaches of the Price Stabilisation Emergency Regulations. There were five charges, to all of which they pleaded guilty. Mr W. R. Birks, for the department, said that the five charges were in respect to five different lines, but an investigation had revealed that in no fewer than 18 lines of commercial stationery unauthorised increases in price had been made. He said that the Price Tribunal regarded these breaches as serious, first of all for the number of lines affected (18), and secondly, because they were not luxury lines. Almost all were. articles essential to the carrying on of commercial offices. They were books required In business, and the increases might have resulted in unnecessary increases in the overhead costs of other traders. Mr Birks pointed out that the sale on which the greatest margin of increase was shown was made to a public institution, the Wellington Hospital Board. For the company, Mr D. W. Vitue said the facts were not in dispute. The charges were brought merely for increasing prices without authority. There was no charge of profiteering. The firm had thousands of lines to be looked over- Costs were increasing, and they/ took what was admittedly the wrong course, but still the very natural one, of attempting to adjust the prices to those they thought would ultimately be sanctioned. The magistrate, Mr W P. Stillwell, said the firm had "chanced its arm," and a penalty must be imposed. He felt justified however, in dealing with the charges as a collection of offences.