Consumer Protection

UPDATE 27/03/2019:

Consumer Protection has received about 90 calls/emails from consumers affected by the closure of Launch Film Productions, with funds at risk estimated at $450,000. Liquidator appointed is Katie Blyth, PricewaterhouseCoopers 9238 3000 - www.pwc.com.au 

Consumer Protection is investigating the closure of a Wangara wedding photography business which has alarmed many consumers concerned about receiving their photos and videos.

A Mount Barker car restorer has been fined $5,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for advertising his services without having a motor vehicle repair business licence.

Grantley Peter Graham, trading as G & T Restorations, was also ordered to pay costs of $514 when he was convicted in his absence on 22 February 2019 of breaching the Motor Vehicle Repairers Act.

Mr Graham held a motor vehicle repair business licence until it expired in September 2017 but continued to advertise his services via a website which is still active.

A 70 year old WA man has fallen victim to an elaborate card game gambling scam, losing about $300,000 to fraudsters in the Philippines over a 15 month period.

The complex scam began when the victim was approached and befriended by a man at a shopping centre in Manila where the victim revealed he was looking for an apartment and a partner. The Filipino man invited the victim back to his home to meet his niece and then persuaded him to take part in a friendly card game assuring him that he didn’t have to put up any money.

A security bond is a payment made in advance by a tenant to cover any costs for which the tenant may be liable at the end of the tenancy, such as damage to the property or unpaid water bills or rent.

Bond money is held in trust for the duration of a tenancy and must be lodged by the landlord or property manager with the Bond Administrator at Consumer Protection within 14 days of receiving it. Delays in lodging a bond can put these funds at risk.

Four Perth consumers have fallen victim to an Italian man selling jackets from a white SUV, claiming they are made from genuine Italian leather.

Reports have been received recently from consumers who were approached uninvited by the man in Cottesloe, Claremont, Mt Lawley and Swanbourne.

As more brands turn to social media influencers to promote their product or service, it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses and buyers to understand how the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to sponsored content.

Influencers don’t have to disclose any commercial arrangement regarding the products and services they promote and are free to express their opinions, but companies that have an arrangement with an influencer (either directly or via a third party) can be found liable for the claims that the influencer makes about their product or service.

A prominent Aboriginal artist has produced a painting to signify positive changes to WA tenancy laws, which will allow renters who’re experiencing family violence to end a lease quickly to leave for safety or have an alleged perpetrator removed from a tenancy agreement.

WA’s Commissioner for Consumer Protection says the prosecution of man, who forged a signature on an application to renew a real estate agent sales representative’s registration, should act as a warning about the importance of honesty in the industry.

At Perth Magistrates Court on 8 February 2019, the Accused – who is not named because a spent conviction was granted – was fined $4,000 and ordered to pay costs of $1,195.10 for providing false information to Consumer Protection.

A Perth gutter repair and roofing business and its sole director have been ordered to pay a total of $14,400 in fines, compensation and costs at Perth Magistrates Court for taking money for services from a consumer but failing to deliver.

With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe...

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