Do you know who to go to when something goes wrong with a vehicle you’ve purchased? This week’s podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA talks about your 3 rights: “stat warranty” is the statutory cover for a limited number of defects and time; new car warranty is the warranty given by manufacturers including things like safety recalls for all vehicles of a certain type; and consumer law rights are those that you can always turn to – assuring you that your vehicle is fit for purpose and free from defects. So when things go wrong, start where you purchased the vehicle! Listen to get the full details about your consumer protections.

Youpla Funeral Fund (or Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund) has gone broke and is in liquidation. What is liquidation and what does this mean for you? The liquidator’s job is to find the assets and money, work out who is owed money, and how it can be distributed to those people or entities. They are working for you – but that doesn’t mean they’ll recover enough to pay you back. For now, contact your bank to cancel any regular payments, if you were making them – the fund is no longer taking payments and there will be no benefits from future payments. Also contact the liquidator to make sure they have your up to date contact details, sop they can find you if and when they have an update about getting money back. Listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA for more information, and see the links below.

Liquidator – SV Partners

For help contact Consumer Protection WA or contact:

Always seek independent financial advice before signing up for plans or policies of this nature to see if the costs, potential benefits and risks are right for you.

This week’s topic with Consumer Protection’s Tom Chapman is a general chat about terms and conditions. What do they mean? How important are they and what goods and services have them? Do you think about the terms and conditions that apply to the takeaway pizza that you buy?! Such goods do have “standard form contracts” where you can request variations to what’s on offer, but mostly you take it or leave it. Contracts stating “no refunds” can’t override consumer law when it comes to a major failure of goods and services, but it’s still important to know what you’re signing up for. Take event tickets – it’s smart to know your options, for example if the date is changed. Do those terms allow you to sell a ticket on and if not, how much would you stand to lose or can afford to lose? Listen to our podcast for information about all this and more.

With the price of fuel at record highs, it pays to be savvy about how to find the best daily deal. Whilst prices can’t be capped, Consumer Protection monitor retailers through their FuelWatch legislation and spot checks to ensure price transparency. Retailers governed by the legislation must report their daily price and must stick to that price for the whole day. Log on to the FuelWatch website (https://www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au/) from 2pm to compare today’s/tomorrow’s prices near you. If the price charged doesn’t match what’s on FuelWatch, then ask in case there’s a mistake, or report the retailer if you have concerns (to [email protected]). For details and more information about watching fuel prices, listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA.

Many of us are noticing rising prices across a whole range of goods and services. Here’s some information about some of the help available – including what Consumer Protection can do and restrictions to stop price gouging on some goods. Price increases in the supply chain are hard, but now more than ever, it’s important to be aware of our consumer rights to make sure we’re not being misled or overcharged for other reasons. Consumer law helps ensure you get value for money. And one upside: increased prices on some goods implies a consumer rights warranty benefit! The more you pay, the longer you can reasonably expect something to last! Listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA for more information about all these points.

Continuing our car buying theme, this week we hear about mechanical checks to do before buying a vehicle and the differences between buying from a licensed dealer or through private sale. We also discuss different types of warranties – from “stat” warranties and new car warranties to consumer guarantees. Each cover you in different ways (or not, in the case of private sales). New car warranties can be transferred to purchasers and may last for several years, so are worth enquiring about – IF the previous owners have kept up a good service history. Otherwise the warranty may be invalidated.  Listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA for more information about all these points.

Dealers aren’t permitted to sell vehicles that might be unroadworthy or fail an over the pits test – Consumer Protection Compliance Officers can put green stickers on them at the car yard. A green sticker is not green for go! It means the vehicle is unfit for sale and the dealer must remedy defects before selling it. A yellow sticker also means the vehicle is unroadworthy and defects must be fixed and the vehicle inspected to get the defect notice cleared. If you get a yellow sticker or have a major issue shortly after buying a car, it’s worth talking to Consumer Protection for some advice around taking it back to the dealer. These protections don’t apply to private purchases or sales through Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace etc. So wherever you buy your vehicle, it’s worth having it checked by a mechanic beforehand to make sure it’s roadworthy. And if you do have a bad experience, report it to Consumer Protection to help keep the dealers honest by doing the things they’re legally required to do. Listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection WA for more information to help you get a car that’s fit for the purpose of driving it on the road!

We all love to feel loved, but what happens when ‘true love’ turns out to be a true scam? Unfortunately scammers prey on our hopes of finding romance on online apps and websites. ‘Catfishing’ is when scammers use a fake identity and photos to lure us in, developing an online relationship over many weeks or even months and declaring love yet never being willing to meet or talk on the phone or a live video call… and then the crunch – a request for money. How to avoid finding yourself on that hook? Listen to our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection for all the warning signs, and don’t be afraid to report being scammed – it could help others avoid the same thing happening.

If you find yourself on a tenancy ‘blacklist’ database, how do you get off it and what information is held about you? Your name must be removed 3 years after the original listing, if you pay off any debt within 3 months, or when you turn 18 (for listings under the age of 18). For court order evictions, you can apply to the court to have those orders set aside and then get your name removed from the database. You can’t be listed for any situation related to domestic violence, or for debts during the COVID tenancy moratorium. But if you believe the listing is inaccurate or unfair, you can also apply to have it removed. Listen to part 2 of our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection for details on all this information.

Tenancy ‘blacklist’ databases – what are they and what do you need to know about them? Tenancy laws set the reasons someone can be put on a tenancy database – essentially these are upon breaching a tenancy agreement, plus receiving a court eviction order or owing more money than is covered by the rental bond. Estate agents must notify you in advance if they use them, and you should also be given notice if you might be put on a database, with the reasons very clearly stated, so you can object or rectify the situation. Listen to part 1 of our podcast with Tom Chapman from Consumer Protection for details on all this information.