With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard No place for family violence Did you know WA is second only to the NT when it comes to rates of family and domestic violence (FDV) and there were more than 50,000 reported incidents across the State in 2016-17? Sadly, family violence is a growing problem in our community and the abuse, whether physical or psychological, often occurs in...

The average cost of unleaded petrol is set to increase by 20 cents per litre (cpl) to 159.8 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Tuesday 29 May 2018, most BP, Caltex, Caltex Woolworths, Coles Express and Puma sites are increasing their ULP price to 163.9 cpl (increasing between 23 and 27 cpl). All 7-Eleven sites are...

A Dalyellup tradie who took deposits from consumers but did nothing or very little in return has been fined and ordered to pay compensation by the Bunbury Magistrates Court. Blake Ball , trading as Balls Walls Constuction (sic), was fined $5,000 on 21 May 2018 after pleading guilty to three charges under the Australian Consumer Law for wrongly accepting payment from two consumers who had provided...

Western Australians are being urged to be on the lookout for threat-based impersonation scams by taking a moment to ‘Stop and check: is this for real?’ This is the theme for this year’s Scams Awareness Week, which runs from 21–25 May 2018. Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said scammers might call or email you and pretend to be from a government agency or well-known, trusted...

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...