Consumer Protection

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.

• Agency fined $6,000 and Director fined $4,000 for code of conduct violations
• Agency Director was also Director of a recommended maintenance company
• Agents reminded to always act in the best interests of their clients

A Canning Vale real estate agency has been fined by the State Administrative Tribunal for failing to act in the best interests of five of its clients in relation to property maintenance recommendations and arrangements.

• Mother’s Day online shoppers warned to be on alert for fake websites and scams
• Consumers urged to know their rights if gifts are faulty or they’ve been misled
• A reminder that gift cards now have a three-year minimum expiry limit

Consumer Protection is encouraging shoppers to be diligent when looking for Mother’s Day gifts, particularly online.

Consumers who increasingly rely on internet shopping for convenience and choice are being warned to be on alert for scams.

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.

• Repairer takes payments from vehicle owners with little work carried out
• Three Perth consumers left out of pocket and their vehicles unusable
• Case highlights the dangers to consumers of paying too much money upfront

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.

• Balga man sells two vehicles online with incorrect odometer readings
• Fined $1,600 on each charge for false or misleading representations
• Seller had previously been prosecuted for unlicensed dealing

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.

• Travelling conmen approach WA consumers and businesses uninvited
• Reports so far received from Perth, Goldfields and Great Southern areas
• These fake tradies do a dodgy job, take the money and run

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.

Consumer Protection is alerting Western Australian car buyers to check vehicle sales contracts before signing for the correct cancellation fees and terms and conditions.

Motor vehicle dealers in WA have been caught using incorrect or outdated sales contracts which state a cancellation fee that is higher than what is now legally allowed.

• Appeal to WA tenants and landlords to claim outstanding bond money
• More than $4 million being held, waiting to be returned to rightful owners
• Free, quick and easy online process to search for and claim money owed

Tenants and landlords in WA are being urged by Consumer Protection to check for unclaimed bond money which currently totals $4.15 million.

• Unlicensed motor vehicle dealer to pay $10,000 fine and $682 in costs
• 19 vehicles were sold between May 2021 and May 2022
• Consumers urged to report unlicensed motor vehicle dealers  

A man has been fined $10,000 by the Bunbury Magistrates Court for buying and selling motor vehicles without a valid motor vehicle dealer licence.

Bradley Christopher Diable was also ordered to pay costs of $682 when convicted on 3 April 2023 of breaching the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.