Consumer Protection

The spread of COVID-19 coronavirus around the world has created a worrying and confusing time for many - holidaymakers are wondering about cancelling trips abroad, while panic-buying has even turned the weekly grocery shop into a daunting task.

Concerned consumers have come to us with numerous enquiries about their rights, so we thought it timely to release a list of Frequently Asked Questions that aim to answer some of the more common queries.

A real estate sales representative who was convicted of extortion, assault and perverting the course of justice and then failed to inform Consumer Protection has been banned from working in the industry for 10 years by the State Administrative Tribunal.

James Steven Mitsopoulos was deemed to be unfit to hold a certificate of registration which was cancelled. He was first registered in October 2011 and a condition of his registration renewal in May 2017 was that he inform Consumer Protection of the outcome of a pending District Court trial, which he failed to do.

Consumer Protection is warning Western Australians to get health information and advice about COVID-19 coronavirus from official and reliable sources, and not be fooled by misinformation circulating in the community, primarily via social media.

A variety of fake cures and prevention tips are being promoted including gargling with salt water, drinking extraordinary amounts of water or certain juices and ‘vibrational healing’ – advice which is undermining efforts by authorities to properly educate the community.

Recalled Samsung top loader washing machines remain in Australian homes, creating a serious fire hazard that puts lives at risk.

We want anyone who has a Samsung top loader to check the model number on the back of the machine above the barcode, and make sure it’s not a recalled machine listed at: 
www.samsung.com/au/washingmachinerecall.

A major international company with an office in Perth is facing a $30 million ransom demand from cyber criminals who locked its computer system in Australia, resulting in a partial interruption to online trading for a short period of time.

A company official has assured Consumer Protection that the personal data of clients has not been compromised and, after a brief system outage, the company is now operating in a business as usual fashion.

Wild weather across Western Australia has prompted Consumer Protection to issue advice to landlords and tenants about their rights and responsibilities when a rental property is damaged.

Landlords and tenants are urged to make contact early and maintain open communication in the aftermath of extreme weather events such as storms, cyclones and flooding.

Commissioner for Consumer Protection Lanie Chopping said landlords and property managers were legally responsible for ensuring the rental property was fit and safe to live in.

Failing to lodge bonds on time and inaccurate record-keeping has resulted in a Karratha real estate agent being ordered to pay $24,069 in fines and costs by the Perth Magistrates Court.

Peard Real Estate Karratha collected bonds from six tenants in the Karratha region between September 2017 and January 2018, but failed to lodge them within 14 days as required by the Residential Tenancies Act. The agent was also convicted of five charges of inaccurate trust records relating to the dates of when the bonds were lodged.

UPDATE 20/04/2021: After Consumer Protection reported on the outcome of this case on 27 February 2020, Christina Cramphorn successfully applied for the judgement to be set aside on the basis that she was not present when the case was heard by the Rockingham Magistrates Court. A re-trial was held on 25 March 2021 and Ms Cramphorn again failed to attend and Magistrate Andretich accepted that she had failed to respond to communications from Consumer Protection.

With Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Lanie Chopping  

Perth’s rental prices have flat-lined for almost three years, but there are strong indications the market could be resuscitated in 2020.

According to REIWA, the number of rental listings fell nine per cent in the last three months of 2019 – helping to nudge down the vacancy rate to 2.4 per cent and resulting in increased competition among tenants to secure a property.

An online home furnishing store based in NSW has been taking orders and payments on its website but dozens of consumers Australia-wide have not received their goods or a refund.

Consumer Protection in WA has issued a public warning about Hub 9 Pty Ltd, trading as The Rattan Collective based in Nashua NSW (near Byron Bay). The Directors of the company are Darren Spencer Jarvis and Leanne Maree Jarvis.