$12M back in the hands of Queensland consumers
Published Tuesday, 02 February, 2021 at 12:57 PM
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
The Honourable Shannon Fentiman
A large number of consumer complaints were resolved in 2020 which saw more than $12 million returned to Queenslanders thanks to the efforts of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman said consumer complaints in Queensland rose almost 20 per cent in 2020 because of COVID.
“During the pandemic we saw a growing number of Queenslanders reach out to the Office of Fair Trading for assistance,” Ms Fentiman said.
“Complaints related to cancelled travel and holiday bookings soared by more than 600% in 2020.
“It was good news for consumers with more than $12 million returned to Queenslanders in the form of refunds, repairs and replacements – an increase of 50 per cent compared to 2019.”
The OFT finalised more than 18,600 complaints from consumers in 2020 compared to 15,800 in 2019.
Ms Fentiman said each year the most complaints are for purchases of products which fall within the ‘personal and household goods’ category.
“The figures show that goods, such as televisions, appliances and furniture, continue to be the number one cause of consumers’ issues, topping the list right across Queensland,” Ms Fentiman said.
“This was followed by complaints for motor vehicle sales and personal and household services such as gardening, repair and maintenance services.”
A dodgy Runaway Bay motor dealer, a cheap as chips Brisbane tradie and a Cairns thatching business are just some examples of businesses that have been caught ripping off consumers and brought to justice by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in 2020.
And in August 2020, a Brisbane couple who ran a render and paint business, were ordered to pay $37,987 in fines and compensation after they left a string of consumers with half-finished home renovation projects across South East Queensland.
The top 5 most complained about industries in Queensland in 2020:
- Personal and household goods (e.g. furniture, whitegoods, TVs, computers) 5,267
- Motor vehicle sales 1,664
- Personal and household services (e.g. repairs to whitegoods, hair dressers, gardening, etc) 1,523
- Travel agents 1,210
- Real estate agents 1,181
The most complained about industries by region in 2020:
|
Location of consumer |
Number of complaints finalised |
Redress obtained by OFT for these consumers ** |
Top five industries complaints related to |
|
Brisbane area* |
12,248 |
$ 5,517,473 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Personal and household services 4. Real estate agents 5. Travel agents |
|
Cairns area |
622 |
$431,896 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 4. Personal and household services 5. Travel agents |
|
Mackay area |
315 |
$812,456 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 3. Motor vehicle sales 4. Personal and household services 5. Real estate agents |
|
Rockhampton area |
385 |
$662,755 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 4. Travel agents 5. Real estate agents |
|
Gold Coast area |
2,257 |
$1,044,912 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Personal and household services 3. Motor vehicle sales 4. Travel agents 5. Real estate agents |
|
Sunshine Coast area |
1,298 |
$962,329 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Travel agents 3. Personal and household services 4. Motor vehicle sales 5.Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts |
|
Wide Bay area |
584 |
$500,889 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 4. Travel agents 5. Real estate agents |
|
Toowoomba area |
503 |
$456,800 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Personal and household services 4. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 5. Travel agents |
|
Townsville area |
486 |
$1,615,516 |
1. Personal and household goods 2. Motor vehicle sales 3. Motor vehicle services, repairs, parts 4. Personal and household services 5. Travel agents |
|
Total |
18,698 |
$12,005,026 |
|
*Includes consumers who reside outside of Queensland or have not provided an address.
**The redress figures provided are those obtained for consumers by each OFT region, they do not perfectly align with the individual complaint numbers as some matters may be handled by another OFT office for operational reasons and because some matters for which redress was obtained may have originated from information or intelligence received by the agency rather than consumer complaints.
Consumers who believe they have been treated poorly and are unable to reach an outcome with a trader can lodge a complaint with the OFT at https://www.qld.gov.au/law/fair-trading or by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
While the OFT does not have the power to direct a trader to provide redress, it is able to resolve the majority of disputes through conciliation.
ENDS
Media contact (Attorney-General): Penni Pappas 0438 747 540
OFT Media contact: 07 3738 8614 or 07 3738 8616
All other enquires: 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
Visit our website: www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading
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