Consumer rights
Shade Solutions owner charged for failure to stop operating
Andrew John Valk, who is accused of swindling tens of thousands of dollars from customers in Victoria and NSW, has been charged by the consumer watchdog.
- by Marta Pascual Juanola and Erin Pearson
Latest
Insurers to repay $815 million after overcharging consumers
More than 5.6 million consumers will be repaid after the corporate regulator revealed 11 general insurers had overcharged their customers.
- by Millie Muroi
‘Manipulative, deceptive’: Amazon sued for tricking users into subscribing to Prime
The online shopping giant has “duped millions of consumers” by illegally inducing them to sign up for its Prime service and then hindering them from cancelling it, the US Federal Trade Commission claims.
- by David McCabe
Auto repairer fined $1m over spam text messages
An investigation from the communications watchdog revealed mycar Tyre and Auto sent more than 1 million texts with no option to unsubscribe.
- by Emma Koehn
Exclusive
Construction
Building insurance flagged for improvement five months before Porter Davis collapse
A working group established by the state government to find quick fixes to rising construction costs presented a 14-point plan last year.
- by Rachel Eddie
Commonwealth bank pays record $3.55m fine for breaching spam laws
ACMA said the penalty against the Commonwealth Bank was the largest imposed in Australia.
- by Anna Patty
Exclusive
Melbourne
Lemon cars, faulty furniture and childcare top Victoria’s list for consumer pain
More than 40 per cent of Victorians were given misleading information about their consumer rights in the last year, as the state’s motorists reported an explosion in issues with faulty cars during the pandemic.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Analysis
Analysis
Fast-tracked ACCC complaints process set to better protect consumers
A similar system established in the UK has seen significant changes to the country’s banking system.
- by John Collett
Opinion
Streaming
Forgotten to unsubscribe? Our digital amnesia is costing us a fortune
Corporations have found a way not just to sell goods and services, but to profit from not selling them: from our forgetfulness, inertia and inattention.
- by Malcolm Knox
Consumer watchdog urged to step in on so-called ocean plastic
Some brands boast their products are made from recycled plastics dredged from the ocean. But there’s little to stop them using that label for plastics picked up on land.
- by Tracey Ferrier
Consumer watchdog wants more power to bust online ‘subscription traps’
Stock countdowns and deliberately confusing website designs are also in the sights of ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
- by Rachel Clun