Consumer Protection has sounded a warning for retailers to ensure they are complying with mandatory button battery safety laws or face penalties, after a number of inspections in Albany uncovered non-compliant products for sale.
A Willetton property manager who operated without a licence and failed to lodge eight tenancy bonds with the Bond Administrator was fined a total of $18,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court on 3 April 2023.
Next time you spot a bill in the letterbox, it could be worth looking into whether you’re being charged extra to receive this correspondence in the mail and how you might avoid paying the fee if so.
A growing number of service providers now charge a fee to cover the costs of printing and posting your bill. That list recently expanded to include Telstra, which reportedly cited ‘environmental reasons’ as the reason many of its customers would need to pay $2.20 each time they received a bill in the mail after 20 May 2023.
A Port Kennedy vehicle repairer has been ordered by the Perth Magistrates Court to pay $48,492.59 in fines, compensation and costs after accepting payments from consumers but failing to complete the work.
An online car seller has been fined $3,200 by the Perth Magistrates Court for misleading two buyers by falsifying odometer readings.
Wesam Hamed Mohammed of Balga was also ordered to pay costs of $682 when convicted on 14 April 2023 of breaching the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading representations.
WA home and business owners are being warned to avoid dealing with a band of fake travelling tradies known as ‘bitumen bandits’ offering to re-surface driveways and car parks, but the standard of their work is extremely poor.
A lack of available rental homes means it’s becoming harder and more expensive for many WA tenants to keep a roof over their heads.
As Perth’s rental vacancy rate reportedly drops to 0.7 per cent and average weekly rents rise to $535, existing tenants may be asked to pay more to remain in the same property.
There are strict rules surrounding how often rent increases are allowed to happen – they can only occur after the first six months of a new tenancy agreement and on a half-yearly basis thereafter in both fixed-term and periodic leases.
They may well look like lollies to young eyes, but both button batteries and small high-powered magnets are capable of causing devastating internal injuries if swallowed.
The dangers have been highlighted in recent news reports on two young children who were hospitalised after ingesting these incredibly hazardous items in separate incidents.
Every cent counts during the current cost of living crisis, so it can come as a shock to discover extra fees or charges have been added to a purchase before checkout, or tacked on to the receipt after paying.
Hidden fees may come in a number of disguises, so it’s important to know what to look for and understand your rights to avoid spending more than you’d initially planned.
