It will probably come as no surprise to many members of the Community, but it’s heartening to see the Productivity Commission (the government’s independent advisory body) has recognised that current fines under Australian Consumer Law were deemed too little to deter businesses from breaching consumer rights in a recent report.
Be sure to read and share @TonyIbrahim’s article below if you agree.
HAAAHHHH!
“The Productivity Commission found the model operates “reasonably effectively”, though the fines issued to businesses and a lack of transparency for consumers were causes for concern.”
Bunkum I say!
In general, I would say there is a significant power imbalance against consumers, and more often than not, the ACL system is smoke & mirrors rather than actual. In general, retailers have nothing to fear from the ACL as mere mortal consumers haven’t the power to invoke any real action against dodgy retailer or service providers. The ACCC (I have tried) only provide pointers to the ACL, which is useless when I am asking them about the interpretation of specific sections of the Act.
The only way ACL works is through large scale actions, and that doesn’t seem to be successful very often. I know a number of high profile wins can be pointed to, but that is only the very, very, very tip of the iceberg.
Mostly, the remedies or fines are like a slap with a wet sardine. It doesn’t hurt, and the smell disappears very quickly.
So, the ACL is good in theory, but to say it is “reasonably effective” is delusional.
I would say it is insulting, not just delusional.
