Malaga company Barrowman Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as Perth Window & Door Replacement Company, and its sole director and secretary Stuart William Barrowman of Woodvale, have been prosecuted by the Building Commissioner for contractual offences and fined a total of $15,000.

On 22 July 2016, the Mandurah Magistrates Court accepted Mr Barrowman and the company’s guilty plea in writing to three charges under the Home Building Contracts Act 1991. The magistrate found that in contracting for home building work valued at $19,918 at an Erskine property in 2014, the company had:

• failed to provide the owner with the prescribed notice prior to signing the contract;
• entered into a contract that provided for it to receive a deposit in excess of 6.5 per cent of the total value of the work (approximately 95 per cent of the total amount payable); and
• entered into a contract that contained a rise and fall clause.

The company was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay costs of $412.62. As the sole director who consented to the company’s actions, Mr Barrowman was taken to have also committed the offences of the company and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and costs of $412.62.

Barrowman Holdings and Mr Barrowman were previously prosecuted by the Building Commission for contractual offences in June 2013. The company was fined $3,750 and Mr Barrowman $500 (read the media statement).

“The Home Building Contracts Act sets out the minimum requirements for contracts and applies to home building and associated work valued between $7,500 and $500,000,” Building Commissioner Peter Gow said.

“Failure to comply with the provisions of the Home Building Contracts Act may result in penalties of up to $10,000 per charge in the case of an individual and $50,000 for a company.

“Consumers can protect themselves by knowing their rights and responsibilities before they engage a person to carry out home building work. Some helpful information is available in the ‘Building or renovating your home’ section of the Building Commission website.

“The Building Commission will continue to hold to account and name those who put the public interest and the reputation of the building industry at risk.”

END OF RELEASE

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