With Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll
In July 2014 Consumer Protection saw a growth in mould issues, raised mostly by tenants but also by landlords and property managers in WA. The seasonal spike, also seen in 2013, can be attributed to cooler, wetter weather and means we’re expecting similar figures around now and in the months up to October.
UPDATE: New advice to seek a refund or replacement has been issued since this blog was published. Please read the latest media statement: /announcements/urgent-advice-owners-recalled-samsu...
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection Gary Newcombe
Puppy scammers are getting their claws into the money of pet-buyers in Western Australia. WA ScamNet – the area of Consumer Protection that deals with consumer fraud – received four reports of monetary loss to puppy sale scams recently. All of the victims had been buying online but there were slight differences in their stories:
Consumer Protection is warning businesses not to deal with ‘bitumen bandits’ who offer to lay driveways on-the-spot with material supposedly leftover from another job.
A report received by Consumer Protection suggests that a British man is approaching business owners in the Willetton area with the offer of immediate start, drive-way laying services, using asphalt in his truck, leftover from another job.
Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection Gary Newcombe says carrying out work there and then is a sign of a travelling conman.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe
Due to their popularity at Halloween-time, I recently used my weekly Community News column to remind consumers to have their eyes open to the potential safety risk posed by short-term wear lenses that allow you to change your eye colour temporarily, or to display a fun pattern over your iris.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe
Complaining via social media – think before you tweet
In the past consumers who wanted others to know about their bad experience with a business would usually rely on word of mouth or perhaps a strongly worded letter to a newspaper editor but nowadays it’s commonplace for people to speak out on social media.
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard
Consumer Protection would like to remind Western Australians to protect themselves while shopping online and to know their consumer rights this Valentine’s Day.
February 14th is seen by many as an opportunity to spoil loved ones. But if the flowers you ordered are not as described or don’t show up on time, or you are left with an empty wallet and nothing to show for it, you are unlikely to be feeling romantic.
Red roses shouldn’t be blue
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard...
There are many pleasant things we associate with summer in Western Australia, such as barbecues and swimming, but unfortunately at Consumer Protection it’s a time when we hear of ‘bitumen bandits’ in the State.
‘Bitumen bandits’ turn up at homes and businesses without invitation and then offer to lay driveways at supposedly discounted prices; often claiming they have asphalt leftover from another job.
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard
You only have to look up ‘white van speaker scam’ online to find out it happens all over the world and it’s been going on for years. At the moment back of vehicle sellers are currently popping up in metropolitan Perth and regional WA and we want to make sure people steer clear of them.
An offer to buy new and used items, advertised in several WA newspapers, has been identified as a scam after being reported to Consumer Protection.
The large colourful advert offered readers of papers such as the Bunbury Herald, South West Times and Busselton & Dunsborough Times the chance to sell ‘merchandise or product’ and listed a huge variety of items that would be accepted; from pets and animals to clothing, furniture, electrical appliances, toys and musical instruments.
The only contact details given were two email addresses:
