Australians are losing more money to scams than ever before, so taking a moment to consider whether there might be a scammer behind the next random phone call, text message or email you receive has never been so important. Empowering consumers to learn how to spot a scam is the focus of this year’s Scams Awareness Week (7-11 November 2022), hosted by the Australian Competition and Consumer...

Serious concerns about tree lopper’s unethical and illegal business practices Demanding cash payment in full upfront and no receipt a warning sign Don’t deal with this rogue tree lopper with long history of bad behaviour Consumer Protection is issuing yet another public warning about the bad behaviour of a dodgy Perth tree lopper who has been the subject of numerous warnings and prosecution...

Motorists in Perth and Mandurah are advised to fill up now if they need to, with petrol prices set to rise tomorrow. FuelWatch reports that, from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday 2 November 2022), the average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 24 cents per litre (cpl) to 198.5 cpl. Puma/Caltex and Ampol hiking by between 35-45 cpl up to 214.9 cpl; Coles Express, EG Ampol, 7-Eleven and...

Exploding gunpowder used in a cap gun causes serious hand injury High Wycombe boy is being treated for second degree burns General warning about Halloween novelty items that may pose hazards Consumer Protection is investigating a Halloween-related incident involving exploding gunpowder that has caused a serious injury to a Perth boy’s hand. The 11 year old boy was opening a packet of ring caps to...

As living costs rise, many tenants may find themselves in a difficult financial position and struggle to pay rent. We urge tenants who miss (or expect to miss) a rental payment to explain their situation to their landlord or real estate agent as soon as possible to hopefully avoid stressful breach notices, potential court action and even eviction. A landlord might agree to a rent reduction for a...

Motorists in Perth and Mandurah are advised to fill up now if they need to, with petrol prices set to rise tomorrow. FuelWatch reports that, from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday 19 October 2022), the average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 25 cents per litre (cpl) to 198.4 cpl. EG Ampol/Caltex Woolworths hiking by up to 42 cpl up to 213.9 cpl; Coles Express, 7-Eleven, BP, Puma/...

Airline passengers continue to feel the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the pandemic has eased off. Travel-related complaints to Consumer Protection more than tripled in 2021-22, compared to 2018-19 and we continue to receive complaints that are related to travel interruptions. The majority of complaints (257 or 61 per cent) relate to flights, with many airline passengers telling...

Motorists in Perth and Mandurah are advised to fill up now if they need to, with petrol prices set to rise tomorrow. FuelWatch reports that, from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday 5 October 2022), the average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 22 cents per litre (cpl) to 190.3 cpl. Puma/Caltex hiking by up to 38 cpl up to 203.9 cpl; 7-Eleven, Ampol, Coles Express, Caltex Woolworths/EG...

Aircon business fined $15,000 for failing to supply to three consumers Clients owed a total of $15,780 in deposit money not yet returned Consumer Protection warns against paying large deposits upfront A Langford air conditioning business operator has been fined $15,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for accepting large deposits from three consumers but failing to install the systems, despite...

Scams may follow the leak of personal information and proof of identity documents Affected consumers urged to be on high alert for approaches by scammers Devices should be secured and accounts monitored closely for unusual activity Current and former Optus customers affected by the data breach are being urged by Consumer Protection to be vigilant over the coming weeks for scams and misuse of...

It may be a familiar scenario for some shoppers – you spot an advert for a product at a very attractive sale price and place an order, but it’s later cancelled by the retailer claiming the item is ‘out-of-stock.’ Consumers may be left wondering whether the business is obliged to honour the discounted price, regardless of whether the item had genuinely sold-out or if a mistake had been made during...