Commissioner's Blog: Unknown subscriptions costing you? Check the fine print!

Have you ever checked your bank account and noticed payment after payment taken out for a subscription you thought you cancelled, or didn’t even know you had?

 

Turns out some subscriptions might not be as easy to cancel as you originally thought, and you might be caught in a subscription trap.

 

Subscription trapping is a tactic known as a “dark pattern”, where you are manipulated or tricked into spending more than planned – just like with subscriptions that are easy to sign up to but hard to get out of.

 

Associations and Co-operatives Bill goes to Parliament

  • Reforms for associations and co-operatives introduced
  • Electronic meetings to be allowed unless rules state otherwise
  • New powers for Commissioner on winding-up and cancellation of associations

The Cook Government has introduced a Bill into State Parliament that will modernise and streamline how incorporated associations and co-operatives conduct their affairs in Western Australia.

Odometer tampering – what to look out for

Odometer tampering is a dangerous practice that puts the community at risk while lining the pockets of those who engage in it. And it’s at the expense of the consumers they are ripping off.

Consumer Protection recently had a win in the Courts against a couple of mates who rolled back the odometers on two vehicles by more than 200,000 kilometres each. What’s especially shocking is one of the men is a licensed motor vehicle salesperson.

Fine for sales rep who spent clients’ money on personal luxuries

  • Mt Lawley property manager illegally accessed agency trust account seven times
  • Redirected money into own bank account to spend on dining and leisure     
  • Payments to former tenants, a carpentry business and insurer were targeted

A former property manager who illegally diverted money intended for tenants, a carpentry business and an insurance company into her own company's bank account has been penalised $10,577.34 by the Perth Magistrates Court.

Commissioners Blog: More property owners now able to help West Aussies secure a rental

It’s no secret there is a significant shortage of rental properties in Western Australia right now. But two incentive schemes to convert short-term rental accommodation and vacant properties into long-term rentals has seen hundreds of West Aussies find a home.

In the past 12 months more than 450 properties have been successfully converted into long-term rentals. That’s hundreds of families, couples, retirees and regional workers who now have a secure lease on a home for at least 12 months.

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