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[karbie]

Hi guys , If ur having issues with a business then you should read this. this was written by a guy called Carlos on a different site:

"For those of you who don't know i used to work for the Department of Consumer Protection as an Investigator. Soon there will be some legislation in place which covers motor vehicle repairers (Motor Vehicle Repairers Act 2003) i know it says 2003 but i have been told the powers that be are still deliberating over a few things like penalties etc so its not actually in force at the moment (you can get a copy of the Act from the State Law Publisher website if your interested in having a look)...

But regardless of the above you can still lodge a complaint under the Fair Trading Act 1987 for things like quality of workmanship and being supplied with different parts to what you ordered etc (heard of a case with the same workshop where they were meant to install a Boshe fuel pump and instead chucked a generic brand in and it resulted in the car having fuel flow problems).

If you do have a problem with a workshop then what you need to do first is approach the workshop and try resolve the matter with them first (generally write a letter stating what the issue is and what you feel they should do to rectify the situation...bearing in mind to be reasonable with that). If you don't have any success trying to resolve it yourself and you have tried on at least 2 occassions to do so then you can lodge a complaint with the Department and someone here will look into the matter for you. Generally the Dept will attempt to conciliate the matter between both parties first (we can't force a trader to do some thign and we can't seek compensation on your behalf, we can just try to get them to fix the problems you have so you are happy with what you paid for). If there appears to be a breach of the legislation then the Dept will generally investigate the trader for those suspected breaches.

Now i don't wanna get your hopes up and make you think the Dept will resolve all matters or be able to take prosecution action etc agaisnt the all traders. It all comes down to evidence and what the evidence shows. However in saying all this, don't just not complain cuz you think nothign will happen, the Dept keeps a record of every complaint that comes in about a trader so if a pattern starts to form in relation to the type of complaints we are getting about them then we will look at things differnetly should a similar complaint come in about the same issues. The Department can close a complaint with no further action (if there is not enough sufficient evidence), issue the trader with an educational letter reminding them of their obligatinos under the consumer protection legislation, issue a formal warning letter (if there is evidence to show a breach but not enough to get a successful prosecution from) and finally prosecution actino where the Department takes the trade to court (need very good evidence to show the breach, otherwsie it's a waste of time and the trader gets away with it)

Anyway i hope that helps a few people as i do see people complaining about the service etc they have received from a trader/workshop on here.

Also NOTE: If you have a problem with a trader who supplies parts etc they must trade in this state in order for us to look into it. however if they are in another state you can always lodge your complaint with the Fair Trading depatment in thatr state and they can look into it for you. Most consumer protection legislatino is the same or very similar in each state.

Any queries or questions feel free to post in here or give me a PM.

Just thought i'd add to this...

section 40 of the Fair Trading Act
40. Warranties in relation to the supply of services (TPA s. 74)
(1) In every contract for the supply by a person in the course of a
business of services to a consumer there is an implied warranty
that the services will be rendered with due care and skill and
that any materials supplied in connection with those services
will be reasonably fit for the purpose for which they are
supplied.

other sctions you might want to look at;
section 12
section 18
section 34 (to be read in conjunction with section 35)
section 37
section 38
section 41

REMEMBER in alot of cases it is good to have witnesses or 3rd parties who can corroborate your version of events and the "he said she" said scenarios are not really gonna hold alot of weight to do anything about someone doing soem thing dodgey...but it can still be worth trying...