Members of Perth’s Chinese community have lost more than $175,000 so far this year to phone scams after they were threatened with arrest or deportation unless they paid fees.
There have been 17 reports from people who have been targeted by the scammers this year, with four victims claiming to have lost individual amounts of $30,000; $13,800; $71,500 and $60,000.
It’s a scenario many of us are familiar with – you’re at home and there’s a knock on the front door, which you open to be greeted by a salesperson wanting to sell you something.
This may not be a welcome sight, so it’s worth knowing that there’s a simple way to stop uninvited salespeople showing up on your door-step – by displaying a ‘Do Not Knock' sticker at your front door or gate.
Consumer Protection created ‘Do Not Knock’ stickers following a 2013 Federal Court ruling in South Australia that found ignoring a ‘do not knock’ sign was a breach of the law.
Laws that regulate the sale of motor vehicles on consignment in WA are under review with a ban being considered as one of the options.
Consumer Protection has begun consulting the industry and community about the future of these laws, proposing three options: maintaining the status quo; strengthening the consumer safeguards and training requirements; or banning consignment sales altogether.
Consumer Protection has issued a Halloween warning about potentially deadly button batteries and other hazards found in some novelty items and trick-or-treat costumes.
The agency’s product safety inspectors have been out and about ahead of Halloween and have identified a number of non-compliant products.
While many Western Australian businesses have re-opened and returned to ‘business as usual’, there are fears some will not survive the financial impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
When a business closes its doors, consumers often call Consumer Protection with concerns about money paid for goods or services that are yet to be received, or unspent gift vouchers or credit notes.
How consumers and creditors are affected when a business goes bust depends on the circumstances of each case.
Are you moving house? Then Consumer Protection recommends choosing your removalist wisely as about 40 complaints have been received so far this year against a few rogue operators in Perth.
Issues raised in the complaints relate to damage to goods, late arrivals, untrained contractors, false claims that they have insurance when they don’t, poorly equipped vehicles and coercion for payment prior to the completion of the job.
The cooling off period for fitness industry contracts will increase to seven days from the current 48 hours under an updated mandatory Code of Practice that will come into effect on 1 July 2021.
The new Code, to be part of the Fair Trading Act, will be expanded to include other fitness service providers apart from traditional gyms, such as personal trainers and group exercise organisers.
A Nedlands catering company and its Director have been ordered by the Perth Magistrates Court to pay more than $20,000 in fines, costs and consumer compensation after failing to turn up at a wedding reception and botching a birthday celebration.
Eat Street Enterprises Pty Ltd, trading as Ole Paella Catering, and sole Director Bradley John Lamb were fined $3,500 each for breaching the Australian Consumer Law and ordered to pay costs of $1,500 each, with Mr Lamb to pay a total of $10,073.10 in compensation to two affected consumers.
Regional Express Airlines Limited (Rex) has agreed to review its refund policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance with the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) when flights are cancelled or delayed, as part of an enforceable undertaking agreed between Consumer Protection and Rex.
The airline has agreed to modify some terms and conditions on its website that had the potential to mislead consumers by giving the impression that a refund was not available under any, or very limited, circumstances.
A Highgate business has been ordered to pay almost $11,000 in fines, costs and compensation after failing to lodge or return the bond money for three Leederville units.
Newblack Nominees Pty Ltd, trading as Verandah Apartments, did not have a representative at Perth Magistrates Court on 4 September 2020 when it was sentenced for three breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, which requires a security bond to be lodged with the Bond Administrator as soon as possible or within 14 days of receiving it from the tenant.
