A property manager has been reprimanded and fined $1,500 by the State Administrative Tribunal for operating without a current certificate of registration.
Shamela Rima Neilson was working for an Attadale real estate agency when her real estate sales representative registration expired in March 2017, but continued to carry out duties as a property manager in breach of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act.
People who receive paper bills in the mail should check to see if it is costing them extra, and if it is, look into how to avoid the extra charge.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said consumers may not realise that many bills they receive in the post could cost them an extra fee.
“The fee could be a couple of dollars for some service providers but, for those receiving multiple paper bills over the course of a year, it’s an added cost people don’t need – particularly those who are on a low income,” Mr Hillyard said.
Thousands of dollars are being lost by WA victims who are led into falling for grant or lottery prize scams by Facebook friends who have had their profiles cloned.
The victims get contacted by the cloned friend’s profile via Messenger asking if they had received their money, as their name is on a list of recipients who have won money either from a grant scheme or a lottery. The victims are usually directed to a fake Facebook page or website that confirms their name on a list of winners.
A motor vehicle repairer has been banned from holding a licence for three years, fined $3,000 and reprimanded by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) after he admitted being involved in corrupt activities related to vehicle examinations.
Peter William Horn of Bibra Lake had breached the Motor Vehicle Repairers Act by engaging in conduct which renders him unfit to be a licensee both as an individual motor vehicle repairer and as a business operator.
A Balga man has been fined $4,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court on 5 July 2019 after pleading guilty to operating a large car dealing operation without a licence.
Wesam Mohammed had bought and sold more than 80 vehicles from June 2017 to August 2018. He was also ordered to pay $426 in costs.
In considering the penalty, Magistrate Young took into account the guilty plea and the fact that Mr Mohammed now has a licence, but said it was important the Court impose a penalty to ensure a culture of compliance in the community.
A Mandurah real estate sales representative has been cautioned and fined $1,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal for failing to disclose important information regarding the sewerage of a home that he was selling.
Jonathan Kenny-Levick was the co-owner of his home in Dawesville that he put on the market in January 2016 through his agency as the listing representative. At the time, the property was still on septic tanks even though a scheme sewerage connection was available.
A Claremont property management agency has been reprimanded, fined $8,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) on 13 June 2019 for trust account errors and other breaches of the law.
Gemranch Nominees Pty Ltd, trading as TM Residential and Executive Leasing, had breached the Real Estate and Business Agents Act and the Code of Conduct for Agents and Sales Representatives by failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence.
A real estate sales representative who stole money from an agency’s trust account has been permanently banned from ever holding a certificate of registration in the industry in WA.
Kylie Marie Chiplin pleaded guilty and was convicted on 12 April 2019 of stealing $34,803.99 from the trust account of Peard Real Estate Scarborough between February 2016 and May 2018 while employed as a property manager.
On 8 May 2018, Ms Chiplin was fined $3,000 and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, by the Perth Magistrates Court.
An unauthorised withdrawal from a trust account has resulted in a Fremantle real estate agency being fined $3,000 and ordered to pay costs of $1,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal.
Port City Pty Ltd, trading as Port City Real Estate, had withdrawn $4,735 from the trust account in July 2017 as a “break contract fee” in circumstances where its agreement with the client who had engaged the agency to manage four commercial units did not permit it.
A company and its Director have been ordered to pay a total of almost $77,000 in fines, consumer compensation and costs by the Perth Magistrates Court after taking substantial deposits from WA consumers for sheds but then failing to supply them.
Shed Systems Pty Ltd, formerly operating in Malaga and Northbridge, and sole Director David Walter Ah Chee were each fined $12,000 on 16 August 2019 after pleading guilty to six charges under the Australian Consumer Law of accepting payment for goods but failing to supply them within a reasonable time.
