Competition Bureau Wants Edmonton Company to Tell Public "Gas Saver" Doesn’t Work

The Competition Bureau announced today that it is cross-appealing a recent Competition Tribunal decision against PVI International Inc. in order to force the Edmonton-based company to inform consumers, through corrective notices in newspapers across Canada and on the Internet, that its gas-saving device does not work.
In May 2002, the Tribunal ruled that a gas-saving device known as the Platinum Vapour Injector does not work and that the company’s claims of saving fuel and reducing emissions were false and unsubstantiated.
PVI and its owners, Michael and Darren Golka, were ordered to cease making representations with respect to the gas-saving device for a period of 10 years. In addition, the company was ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $75,000 and the two individuals were ordered to pay $25,000 each.
For its part, PVI International Inc. is appealing the Tribunal’s ruling.
The Bureau feels that corrective notices are important as they allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. Consumers may continue to purchase items, such as the Platinum Vapour Injector, if they are not aware that the product does not perform as claimed.
“Consumers paid as much as $300 for this so-called gas-saving device,” said Raymond Pierce, deputy commissioner, Competition Bureau. “The Bureau believes that ordering PVI International Inc. to publish corrective notices in newspapers across the country and on the Internet is an effective way to alert consumers of the company’s unsubstantiated claims.”
Prior to the Tribunal ruling, consumers were enticed into buying gas and diesel versions of the Platinum Vapour Injector through newspaper, radio and Internet advertising, by claims that the device could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 22%, while reducing harmful emissions.