The Consumer Protection Kalgoorlie office is moving from its current location on Brookman Street to the department’s West Kalgoorlie office on the corners of Hunter and Broadwood Streets. The Brookman Street office will close on Friday 31 August at 12.30pm and will reopen in the West Kalgoorlie office on Monday 3 September 2018 at 8.30am. There will be no change to the services provided by the...

Consumer Protection regularly reminds consumers in Western Australia about their rights and the regulations in place to protect them, but what happens when you actually need to make a formal complaint about a retailer or business? The first step in the process is always to approach the trader and attempt to get a remedy for the issue. We have a handy checklist on our website to guide you through...

Consumer Protection has been advised by the promoters that this Sunday’s “Earthcore in the Park” event at Mulberry on Swan near Perth has been cancelled, so ticketholders should be offered a refund. Ticketholders who purchased tickets via credit card should immediately contact their credit card provider or bank to apply for a charge back . Those who purchased tickets via PayPal should contact...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Consumer Protection WA is a proud supporter of Fraud Week, which this year starts on the 15 th of May and aims to help social media users learn how to spot a scam. Social media profiles often display a lot of personal information, such as your photos, where you have been lately, a record of life events, who you’re connected to and...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Puppy scammers have been getting their claws into the money of pet-buyers in Western Australia for years. The scammers also use kittens, birds and other popular animals as bait. Sadly the animal never arrives and Consumer Protection has received reports of monetary loss from many heartbroken would-be pet owners. Advertisements can be...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard A number of residential building companies have collapsed in WA in recent months prompting Consumer Protection to reissue advice to off-the-plan property buyers. One of the biggest risks for anyone purchasing a home and land package or a yet-to-be-built house, unit or apartment within a development, is the prospect of it not going...

With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard Air-filled loungers were one of the must-have Christmas presents for 2016 and had been heavily promoted via social media and at pop-up stalls in shopping centres. Photos or videos indicate the products are able to be used in water BUT two near-misses in Australian home swimming pools during the festive period prompted drowning risk...

With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard If you’re buying a car any time soon we have a message we’d like to drive home. Consumer Protection has concerns about the value of add-ons being sold to people purchasing motor vehicles in Western Australia. There’s been a recent increase in complaints to Consumer Protection about the vehicle ‘extras’ sold at the point of sale such as...

Portable decorative ethanol burners, like those pictured, were banned from sale in Western Australia since 21 December 2016, and from 15 July 2017, are prohibited under a mandatory safety standard. More detail is available from the product safety page Ethanol burners (Decorative alcohol fuelled burners) . WA consumers I own a small freestanding ethanol burner bought prior to the mandatory...

With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard Summer is upon us, school's out and thousands of families will be taking time out to go on holidays. While we want everyone to relax and have fun, we also want the holiday to be safe, particularly for children. If you have booked short-stay accommodation, we have a list of safety checks you should carry out as soon as you arrive. We...

With Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner David Hillyard Summer’s here and that means music festival season. But what happens if a big outdoor event or live concert is cancelled or dramatically changed at the last moment? The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) gives consumers rights if an Australian business fails to deliver what they said they would … that can include calling off a festival or...