With Commissioner for Consumer Protection Lanie Chopping
Are you looking to buy white goods, electrical items or a new car in the near future? Chances are you’ll be offered an extended warranty by the salesperson but you need to think twice before saying “yes” because you could be wasting your money.
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.
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.
Legislation is currently before the WA Parliament that aims to bring the new Costco fuel outlet at Perth Airport under the FuelWatch umbrella.
Currently, the Petroleum Products Pricing Act 1983 (WA) does not cover fuel sales when there is an existing agreement between the customer and the fuel retailer, including member-based schemes such as Costco.
When passed by Parliament, the new laws will mean Costco will not be able to claim this general exemption from FuelWatch and will be required to report its pricing.
Concert-goers are being warned to avoid paying for tickets via PayPal using the ‘friends and family’ function, as these transactions are not covered by the financial service’s buyer protection policy.
The warning comes as Consumer Protection has received numerous complaints from Western Australians unable to retrieve their money after using this function to transfer funds to scammers posing as genuine ticket sellers on classified sites.
A real estate agency manager recently jailed for fraud has been ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and costs for taking more than $220,000 of clients’ money from trust accounts.
At Perth Magistrates Court on 18 March 2020, Jason John Vecchio pleaded guilty to 15 breaches of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act for unauthorised withdrawals and mismanagement of the trust accounts in 2015.
Western Australians are warned to be on high alert for unsolicited SMS or social-media messages urging them to inject money into a fraudulent scheme disguised as an investment opportunity.
Consumer Protection is aware of an investment scam circulating in the WA community that claims almost $22 million can be unlocked from an international account if the recipient pays part of the $500,000 required in fees and taxes to release the money.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Penny Lipscombe said the scammer seemed to be targeting those living in regional WA.
The Costco fuel outlet at Perth Airport will now be required to report its prices to FuelWatch when new regulations come into effect tomorrow.
Previously, the member-based fuel retailer was exempt as the Petroleum Products Pricing Act 1983 (WA) did not cover fuel sales when there is an existing agreement between the customer and the fuel retailer. The law has been changed so Costco cannot claim this exemption and is now required to participate in the FuelWatch scheme.
