Just as a possible response to whether values that a business expresses may be legally actionable Husqvarna admitted the following (article can be read at Husqvarna admits it likely misled franchisees following ACCC action - SmartCompany):
“Outdoor power tools company Husqvarna Australia has admitted it likely misled its franchisees when it told them that the Franchising Code of Conduct did not apply to their dealership agreements.”
While this statement is only the lead to the rest of the reasoning and I am definitely no lawyer, legal expert or have any legal training beyond accounting, I think if a company makes a public statement about how they will act and then carry out acts contrary to those published principles it just may be possible to hold them to legal account.
As to the short timeframe involved in expecting a response, I again think there can be reasons why someone could expect a quick response. If for example a contract needs to be signed within a short period and there are concerns with some of the terms then a quick response to any query should be speedy even if only to request more time to respond. This could apply in other situations eg a property is up for rental and a person is required to attend an inspection to determine suitability and the agent then delays notifying such that a possible tenant is disadvantaged in their application. Would it be something someone could take to a Court or Tribunal, probably not but they may then post a review that was critical of the process that happened.
@gordonc
The current discussion around AirBnB may also may have similarities about reviews and how a business represents itself and policies they adhere to (or don’t adhere to). This topic discusses whether a business could be held to account about how it actually deals with these issues. See:
The creator of the topic also believes that reviews and the way they are used are part of the problem.
Also from the ACCC is this:
"For instance, a business must not make false or misleading representations about:
- the standard, quality, value or grade of products or services".
Services here is important as the Estate Agent is offering services both to potential and actual renters, landlords, sellers and buyers. They make representations about the standard & quality of their services. You complained about the standards & quality of their services which is your right to do so. Based on what you have supplied the responses appear that they may be very unsatisfactory in their content and how long it took to provide those responses. Again this is only my opinion that I think this may be something the ACCC might consider a failure of the business in regards to it’s representations about the standards & quality of their services.
The ACCC may be interested in a formal complaint made to them but it is rarely something they will act on if it is isolated in nature. They tend to take action when a problem becomes one where they have received many complaints but it isn’t impossible that they may act if they believe it will serve a greater public good/need.
