Dreamscape Networks International, the entity behind Crazydomains.com.au, has been hit with $56,340 in penalties by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for misleading consumers.

The penalties come after the ACCC issued three infringement notices to Dreamscape for allegedly making false or misleading representations about two 'free' products and its Domain Privacy product.

Singapore-registered Dreamscape owns and operates Crazydomains.com.au, a platform offering services such as domain name registration, web hosting, and web design. Between October 2019 and July 2023, the website advertised its '3-month website builder' product and an 'additional domain name registration' as free. However, these products had an auto-renewal feature that charged fees once the free period ended, a detail not adequately disclosed to consumers.

The ACCC posited Dreamscape did not make it clear to consumers at the point of sale that these were subject to auto-renewals and fees.

In addition to the misleading 'free' product claims, the website also offered a Domain Privacy product that did not deliver as advertised. Contrary to the product's claims, it did not hide contact names or email addresses from the public domain.

"Businesses must provide consumers with accurate information about the products or services they are purchasing," ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver stated. "In this case, consumers may have believed they were receiving a free product in addition to the one they were purchasing because they were not given clear information about ongoing subscription costs for these so-called free products."

In response to the ACCC's enforcement action, Dreamscape has updated its disclosure around the auto-renewal and cost of its products, as well as the uses of its privacy products.

The ACCC noted the payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.