A Perth gutter repair and roofing business and its sole director have been ordered to pay a total of $14,400 in fines, compensation and costs at Perth Magistrates Court for taking money for services from a consumer but failing to deliver.
Consumer Protection has issued on-the-spot fines to four fuel retailers in Perth and Albany after they breached laws relating to fuel pricing.
Each were issued infringement notices of $1,000 with two service stations overcharging and two others displaying the wrong price prior to the 6am changeover.
An Albany fuel retailer had overcharged 2.4 cents per litre (cpl) for ULP for more than seven hours after the 6am changeover. A Perth fuel retailer had overcharged 2 cpl for ULP for more than an hour after the 6am changeover.
Lodging bonds late has resulted in a Busselton real estate agency being convicted and receiving a total of $3,500 in a fine and Court costs.
Geographe Real Estate Pty Ltd, trading as LJ Hooker Geographe Bay, was convicted, fined $2,000 and ordered to pay costs of $1,500 by the Busselton Magistrates Court on 6 February 2019 after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to lodge bonds with the Bond Administrator ‘as soon as practicable’ as required by the Residential Tenancies Act.
The New Year is off to a bad start for scam losses with 86 victims in WA losing $1.81 million in the first month of 2019.
This follows the release last week of the 2018 annual scam report which showed 569 victims losing a total of $10.7 million over the year, a substantial increase from the previous year.
Individual losses for January 2019 reported to WA ScamNet included a romance scam victim who lost $468,500 and an investment scam victim who lost $308,442.
A property developer has been fined $25,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court and ordered to pay compensation totalling $26,207 to three of his clients after pleading guilty on 25 January 2019 to accepting payment but failing to supply the goods and services.
David John Leitch Emery, formerly of Busselton but now residing in Perth, was trading as DK & IE Projects and D1 One when the breaches of the Australian Consumer Law occurred in 2015 and 2016.
An unlicensed motor vehicle dealer has been fined $5,000 and ordered to pay costs of $514 by the Perth Magistrates Court after pleading guilty on 18 January 2019.
Paul Anh Ngoc Nguyen of Bassendean had purchased 35 motor vehicles and sold 37 between November 2016 and July 2018 without a licence, in breach of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said unlicensed dealing created an uneven playing field for the industry and threatened consumers’ rights.
Recent reports from Perth home owners about bogus door-to-door sellers are a good reminder to make sure you know your rights when a salesperson knocks.
In the past few weeks, people have told us about visits from door-to-door water testers who give the impression they are from the Government and make false claims about water quality, but are really sellers of water filtration systems.
An unlicensed motor vehicle dealer has been fined $5,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2,197 by the Perth Magistrates Court after pleading guilty on 23 January 2019.
Hafedh Al Anzi of Ellenbrook had purchased and sold 26 motor vehicles between June 2016 and January 2018 without a licence, in breach of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said unlicensed dealing represented a real danger to the community and jeopardised consumers’ rights.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard
The current economic climate is affecting the rental market in Perth and Western Australia. Some renters are leaving homes for a less expensive option because their financial circumstances have changed, while others are simply taking advantage of the increase in vacant rental properties to choose from.
When it is time to end a tenancy, for whatever reason, WA’s Residential Tenancies Act applies and there are things to consider.
Notice periods
Western Australians reported losing a total of $10.7 million to scams in 2018, a 32 per cent increase from the previous year, according to figures released by WA ScamNet.
There was also an increase in the number of victims with 569 people reporting losses to WA ScamNet in 2018, a 42 percent increase from 2017.
There was a huge hike in losses to investment scams, which topped the list of categories, followed by romance scams and ‘buying and selling’ online resulted in more people being stung.
