JB Hi-Fi has started refunding about $250,000 to more than 200 customers after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the retailer used misleading online “was” prices on 17 products. The money is already being returned, and affected shoppers do not need to contact the company to get it.

The refunds were announced on Thursday, making the case a live consumer issue today rather than an old compliance dispute. It gives a rare, concrete finish to an ACCC investigation that ran from March to September last year and found pricing claims on products including two laptops, a VR headset and a gaming monitor that were not as genuine as advertised.

ACCC deputy chair Luke Woodward said businesses had to make sure pricing information was accurate and that discounts were real, adding that companies should not mislead consumers with incorrect “was” prices online or in stores. He said the misleading claims deprived shoppers of the chance to make informed decisions because they may have walked away if they had known the discounts were not genuine.

JB Hi-Fi’s own explanation points to a narrower failure than the headline sounds. Nick Wells said the technology categories were facing supplier component cost increases, stock shortages and heightened competition, while the ACCC said the misleading prices were largely the result of system errors or human error rather than a widespread or systemic promotional campaign. Some of the pricing mistakes had already been fixed before the regulator stepped in.

That distinction matters because the case lands in the same period that the ACCC has been pressing other major retailers on pricing claims, including Coles, which recently lost a Federal Court fight over similar issues. But here the regulator is not pursuing more action. JB Hi-Fi is contacting affected customers directly, some refunds have already gone out automatically, and the company has now moved from explanation to repayment.

The unresolved question is not whether customers will be paid back. It is how widely the wrong prices spread across the retailer’s online promotions before they were caught, and whether the refund bill ends here at about $250,000 or rises if more affected shoppers are identified.