Hundreds of JB Hi-Fi customers will receive a refund after the consumer watchdog found it misled consumers on sale prices.

More than $250,000 will be refunded to 206 customers over pricing claims advertised for products including laptops, a VR headset and gaming monitor.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigated the retailer’s online product pricing from March to September last year and was concerned it misled consumers.

The watchdog alleged JB Hi-Fi promoted 17 products from a previous higher price, or were never offered for sale at the higher price, or only offered at the higher price for a short period of time, or only offered at the higher price long before the promotion.

More than 200 customers bought the products when they were advertised with an alleged misled “was” price.

System and human error were blamed for the mishap and customers have already begun receiving refunds.

ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said it was critical businesses ensured that pricing information provided to consumers was accurate and that discount deals were genuine.

“We will not hesitate to take appropriate action when we see evidence of breaches of the Australian Consumer Law,” he said.

“JB Hi-Fi’s conduct deprived consumers of the opportunity to make informed purchasing decisions based on accurate information, as they may have decided not to buy the products if they knew the claimed discount was not genuine.”

A JB Hi-Fi spokesman said they took compliance very seriously and had strong processes in place regarding comparison pricing.

“The issues identified occurred in a small number of limited circumstances and, as acknowledged by the ACCC, were due to inadvertent errors,” a spokesman said.

“JB Hi-Fi has fully co-operated with the ACCC at all times to resolve the matter and has contacted the 206 customers to arrange remediation.“