A man who operated a business selling specialist motor vehicle parts as well as conducting driver training courses was fined $10,000 by the Armadale Magistrates Court on 31 July 2020 and ordered to pay compensation to his disappointed customers amounting to $16,003. Gordon German , trading as Green Oval Experience formerly operating in Canning Vale, was also ordered to pay costs of $225.90. Mr...

If you’ve seen an advert promising big returns on an investment in shipping containers, then our advice is to consider whether it may be a scam or Ponzi scheme. WA ScamNet is aware of $800,000 of losses in Western Australia so far to a venture called Pacific Tycoon, which advertises investments in shipping containers and promises returns of up to 20 per cent when they lease it out on your behalf...

Community service providers that offer support to some of our most vulnerable consumers have been recognised in the Consumer Protection Awards, along with a program to prevent infant sleeping deaths and a regional reporter. The 2020 winners were announced at a 'virtual' event on the Consumer Protection Facebook page after the awards ceremony in March was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions...

A 53 year old Applecross man was fined $4,500 by the Perth Magistrates Court on 24 July 2020 after pleading guilty to buying and selling 52 motor vehicles without a licence. The man, who was granted a spent conviction, had traded the vehicles between May 2018 and November 2019 in most cases using Gumtree. Not having a licence for this level of trading breaches the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act...

If you’re a Western Australian who loves to travel, then odds are high you’ve had a trip cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully your refund or remedy was sorted quickly, but if not, you’re certainly not alone. Complaints to Consumer Protection were five times higher in the period from March 1 2020 until now, compared with the same period last year. Of the 625...

A winter warning for consumers looking to have their fireplaces cleaned – stay away from a chimney sweep who takes your money but then wanders off without finishing or even starting the job. Neil Michael Cole , formerly of Gidgegannup but now believed to be living in the Bunbury area and trading as The Wandering Chimney Sweep , has been advertising his services on Facebook Marketplace. On six...

‘Panic-buying’ is a term we’d usually associate with grocery shopping in 2020, however there are suggestions it may be happening in the quad-bike industry currently on the eve of new safety regulations. We have been concerned to hear reports that some quad bike dealerships are running low on stock as farmers and other consumers rush to buy-up current models that do not meet the important new...

The average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) is set to increase by over 29 cents per litre (cpl) to 135.5 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers, if they can, to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Wednesday 22 July 2020, most branded retailers are hiking their ULP price: Coles Express hiking by up to 40 cpl up to 145.9 cpl; BP up to 144.9 cpl; Caltex...

Major reforms are now in force which lift the red tape burden on WA charities, reducing their administration costs and resulting in more money being made available to charity recipients. The changes to WA’s Charitable Collections Act simplify the application process and reporting requirements while removing duplication of compliance for charities. Charity licences do not have an expiry date now,...

A Bayswater waste recycling company has been found guilty of gross negligence over a 2016 incident in which a labour hire worker’s arm was amputated at the shoulder. Resource Recovery Solutions Pty Ltd was found guilty of gross negligence in failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment for a labour hire worker in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday. In January 2016, a worker at...

Wageline’s WA long service leave calculator was launched in May 2020, and has already been used by employers and employees over 5,000 times. The WA long service leave calculator can provide an estimate of an employee’s long service leave entitlement when employment ends as a result of resignation, dismissal, death or redundancy. The WA long service leave calculator is relevant to employees...