The Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas 2017 (the Map) that comes into effect on Thursday 1 June 2017, is now available from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) website. This edition of the Map will show both ‘new’ bush fire prone areas and those ‘continuing’ from earlier editions of the Map. All bush fire prone areas will be coloured pink on the Map, with ‘new’ bush fire prone areas...

A company selling share trading software and its sole Director have been fined a total of $7,500 and ordered to pay consumer compensation of $4,700 for breaking laws related to cold-calling contracts. GTA Australia Pty Ltd (in administration) , registered in NSW, was fined $5,000 and sole Director Kristopher Corbett , who resides on the Gold Coast, was fined $2,500 by the Perth Magistrates Court...

The directors of The Patio Guys (WA) Pty Ltd (in liquidation), Sean and Roberta Keown, have been successfully prosecuted by the Building Commissioner for offences committed by the company. In the Bunbury Magistrates Court on 29 May 2017, Mr and Mrs Keown were each ordered to pay fines totalling $1,500 and ordered to pay costs of $578 after pleading guilty to three charges each. The first two...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Is a new kitchen on your home improvement menu for 2017? You’ll need to get the ingredients and preparation right to avoid a recipe for disaster. When hiring a kitchen renovator you really should shop around and obtain as many written quotes as possible to compare price and value. But first you need to select contenders for this...

The average cost of unleaded petrol is set to increase by around 20 cents per litre (cpl) to 137 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Tuesday 30 May 2017, most Puma sites are increasing their ULP price by 29 cpl to 141.9 cpl. Most BP, Caltex, Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express sites are increasing their ULP price to 139...

Building Commissioner Peter Gow has issued a public warning about the status of registered building contractor Contempo Group Pty Ltd (reg. BC14145). The Building Commission has been advised by Contempo Group’s director that the building contractor’s nominated building supervisor, Mr John Hewitt (reg. 14108) is no longer performing the role of nominated supervisor. The Building Commission has...

A Perth real estate agency’s computer system has been hacked by scammers, resulting in bogus advertisements being posted on numerous rental accommodation websites. Actions are being taken to have the fake ads removed and to have an email address being used by the scammers ( rentscall@gmail.com ) closed down. The scammers gained access to the western suburbs’ agency’s log in details for sites such...

A product recall has been issued for the Rinnai Symmetry inbuilt gas log effect space heater, models RDV3610ETR and RDV3611ETR. It has been identified that under some circumstances the mesh guard may separate from the front of the heater and there is also a remote possibility of glass breakage resulting in a risk of injury. Other Rinnai models are not affected. If you have one of the affected...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Consumer Protection WA is a proud supporter of Fraud Week, which this year starts on the 15 th of May and aims to help social media users learn how to spot a scam. Social media profiles often display a lot of personal information, such as your photos, where you have been lately, a record of life events, who you’re connected to and...

Consumer Protection is reminding buyers of demonstration vehicles that they are entitled to the full term of the manufacturer’s warranty in terms of time, and the clock only starts ticking from the date of purchase. The warranty on a demonstration vehicle is only affected in terms of distance travelled, with the odometer reading at the time of purchase allowed to be deducted. For example, a 5...

The Wageline Newsletter record keeping edition has been published today. The text of the Newsletter is below. This edition features information on the record keeping requirements and the penalites that apply to employers who fail to keep employment records. Wageline Newsletter is an email service which provides updates on: increases to the state minimum wage and WA award rates of pay other...

A Thornlie man who bought and sold vehicles over a 16 month period without a dealer’s licence has been fined $5,000 by the Armadale Magistrates Court. Majid Hussain Al Asadi had bought 35 vehicles at auction and then sold 18 of them privately on Gumtree between March 2015 and June 2016 while unlicensed, in breach of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act. He was also ordered to pay costs of $601.50 on 2...