The Minister for Justice has revealed that more than $8 million was returned to Queensland consumers by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in refunds, repairs, replacements and other compensation in 2019.
The Minister, Yvette D’Ath said the consumer protection Agency finalised just over 15,800 complaints from the public last year.
“The Office of Fair Trading is there to protect Queensland consumers and the results from 2019 shows it’s doing a great job,” Ms D’Ath said.
“It’s working to create a fairer and safer marketplace for all Queenslanders through a combination of compliance, enforcement and education activities.”
She said the vast majority of Queensland traders complied with the law and were committed to good customer service, but there was always a minority that were not doing the right thing.
Ms D’Ath said the OFT’s free and informal conciliation process was delivering great results, returning $6,126,000 to consumers in 2019.
“Even where there’s no breach for which enforcement action can be taken, the matter is often referred for conciliation as the consumer may still be entitled to a refund or replacement,” she said.
“In the last 12 months, the OFT has also taken traders in several industries to court for breaches of consumer legislation.”
She gave examples of a Toowoomba dog breeder who was fined $14,500 for failing to supply puppies and a tradesperson fined $10,000 for failing to install pool fences.
“There’s also the case of a bitumen bandit who was hit with a $64,000 fine for failing to meet his consumer obligations,” Ms D’Ath said.
“All three of these traders were also ordered to provide refunds to consumers.”
She said the OFT also provided information and advice by phone to more than 101,000 consumers and traders and assisted a further 14,000 consumers with their disputes via its enquiry services.
