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Spa retailer strikes deal with competition bureau

The Competition Bureau has announced an agreement with a local spa retailer related to misleading representations concerning its products.

The Competition Bureau has announced an agreement with a local spa retailer related to misleading representations concerning its products.

The bureau said in a news release that Dynasty Spas and EcoSmart Spas, which operate in Red Deer and Calgary, and Brent Marsall — a director with both retailers — have agreed to “cease making misleading representations and to pay an administrative monetary penalty of $130,000.”

Last June, the bureau announced that it had filed an application with the Competition Tribunal seeking to prohibit Marsall and his companies from making claims that its products were eligible for certification under Energy Star — an international standard for energy efficiency and environmental protection.

No hot tubs, spas or insulation products for sale in Canada are eligible for such certification, said the bureau.

It announced a crackdown on unsupported energy savings claims in June 2009, and reached agreements with all Canadian hot tub and spa retailers that had been identified as doing so, except EcoSmart Spas and Dynasty Spas.

Reached at the EcoSmart store in Calgary, Marsall said the problem resulted from perimeter heat shield insulation manufactured by another company in the United States containing an Energy Star logo. He said nine other hot tub dealers in Canada had the same issue.

A written statement provided by Marsall said, “Dynasty Spas does not control the labelling practices of foreign manufacturers. Dynasty Spas has always put its customers first and has done its utmost to be ethical and act with integrity in its business.”

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency.