With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard
Extended retail trading hours for the Christmas period began on the 5th of December for the Perth metropolitan area, giving shoppers an extra 51 hours to find gifts for family and friends.
Major retailers are allowed to open as early as 7am on weekdays and Saturdays, 8am on Sunday and close later at 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard
The start of the bushfire season in Western Australia has been a horrendous one, with the loss of lives and extensive damage cause by wild blazes in the Esperance region as well as serious fires in the outer areas of metropolitan Perth.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe
Are you planning home improvements? Perhaps a TV show like ‘The Block’ has inspired you to renovate. Consumer Protection has some important recommendations for you to consider before you hire tradespeople to carry out jobs at your property.
Our top tip is NOT to pay large amounts of money for nothing in return.
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection Gary Newcombe...
Consumer Protection is seeking feedback on various options for changes to the laws regulating the buying, selling and repair of motor vehicles in Western Australia.
These laws impact consumers who buy motor vehicles (including cars, caravans, camper vans and motor cycles) from dealers, as well as consumers who have any of these vehicles repaired.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe...
You may have seen or heard adverts about ways to pay for your funeral in advance to take the pressure off your family when the time comes. A funeral could cost thousands of dollars depending on the kind of service you want, which means planning ahead is a good idea. However, paying for funeral cover can be expensive and complex. One of the easiest ways is simply to save.
With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe
Technology that allows us to ‘tap and go’ or pay with a wave of a card can be convenient and of benefit to people who don’t want to carry cash. However, when contactless transactions become paperless, as is often the case, there can be issues for consumers who later want specific breakdowns of what they paid or to challenge a business after the fact.
A travel accommodation website is listing properties for lease without the property owner’s permission, sparking fears that the site is run by scammers.
WA ScamNet is currently investigating the origins and purpose of Travel Advisor Pro (TAP) traveladvisorpro.net but due to early indications that it is a scam, a decision has been made to issue an early warning to protect consumers from potential monetary loss.
Here’s what we know so far…
A Wangara motor vehicle dealer and its sole Director have been ordered to pay a total of more than $80,000 in fines and costs by the Joondalup Magistrates Court for selling used vehicles without a warranty.
Ridgehaven Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as Wanneroo Cars and Commercials of Wangara (now closed), and its sole Director Brian John Whitehead pleaded guilty to 29 charges under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and 10 charges under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA).
With David Hillyard, Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection
Checkout Checks
Each week, our team of compliance officers visit shops across the Perth metropolitan area to see whether prices advertised on store shelves match the amounts customers are charged when the goods are scanned at the checkout. These checks are called price scanning audits and are also done by Consumer Protection officers in country towns to make sure regional consumers are also paying the advertised shelf price amount for goods.
With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection, David Hillyard
Paying large amounts of money up front for nothing in return or hiring a tradesperson without a recommendation, or without seeing references or sighting previous good work are some of the mistakes Western Australians regularly make when having work carried out on their homes.
