Unless you’ve had need to trawl through the ACCC’s website to figure out the best way to acquire a refund or replacement, it’s unlikely you know the specific ins and outs of our legal system when it comes to dealing with these situations. According to the ACCC, 90 per cent of us fall into this group and, as such, the organisation has launched a new campaign to raise awareness. More »
One of the basic rules of advertising prices in Australia is that you have to prominently display the entire cost. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Air Asia to court, alleging that it has advertised flights without showing the total costs including taxes and other fees. More »
The world of scams changes rapidly. If you’ve experienced an attempted online or phone scam and are happy to share your story, the Australasian Consumer Fraud Task Force and the Australian Institute of Criminology are conducting a survey to identify prevalent scams in the local area. More »
Dear Lifehacker, I just upgraded to Ultimate Cable (from Telstra). When I connect directly with the supplied NetGear router, I can get really good speeds, but when I hook up via my Billion 7800N, the connection becomes a lot slower. More »
Qantas was quick to offer refunds to some customers after its dramatic grounding last month, but did it go far enough? Following intervention by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the airline has made its conditions for refunds slightly less onerous. More »
Petrol prices are a major concern for most Australians when they set their budget. If you feel like you’re suffering at the bowser, here’s the hard data: the capital city price for unleaded petrol rose by eight cents per litre over 2010-2011, with an average cost of $1.32 per litre. But which petrol retailers are usually the first to lift prices? More »
Online dating sites often get laughed at by people in any sort of relationship, but they’re big business — and a big source of scams. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has received more than 1600 reports of relationship scams this year, with a claimed value of $17 million. To try and reduce that, it has developed a draft code of conduct for sites to follow. More »
It feels like the battle over whether Franklins can be acquired by IGA’s parent company Metcash has been going on forever, but we finally have a conclusion. Yesterday the Federal Court rejected an appeal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against the deal, meaning it can now go ahead. What does that mean, for shoppers and the ACCC? More »
Qantas has promised refunds and expense payments to customers who were affected by its weekend grounding, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) seems keen to see that happen. In a sternly-worded statement, it has told Qantas to make sure it pays all reasonable expenses incurred by travellers stranded during the grounding. More »
I was under the impression that product recalls were a rare thing. Turns out this isn’t the case — all you have to do is peruse the ACCC Recalls Australia iPhone app, launched recently by everyone’s favourite consumer watchdog, to see there’s quite a number of recalls in the wild. More »
