Photo courtesy of Widjaya Ivan on Flickr

Roselyn Joy Wilson, formerly of Oak Flats, New South Wales, has been fined $6,510 by Fair Trading and ordered to pay a total $11,120 compensation to six customers for scamming them via her fake internet business.

Dozens of customers complained about not receiving generators purchased from Wilson’s online business, Quality Direct Pty Ltd.

The fake online business, www.qualitydirect.com.au, purported to sell generators at a discounted price, provided customers pay for goods upfront.

At least six customers were ripped off between February and June, 2012, after they deposited sums of almost $2000 each into an account but received no generators.

“Consumers were left high and dry by [Wilson], who simply stopped taking calls from frustrated people demanding to know when their generator would be delivered,” Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said.

“It appears [she] had no intention of supplying the goods she received payment for and she then failed to co-operate with Fair Trading once consumers sought our intervention.

“Failing to provide goods and services in a timely manner is a breach of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading will take action against any online trader who thinks they will get away with such dishonest behaviour.”

Fair Trading received more than 50 complaints about the business in 2011 and 2012, prompting it to warn the public about dealing with Wilson or Quality Direct.

To read more on this story, click here.

Photo credit; Marc Falardeau on Flickr

Advertising your products as Australian made can be a huge boost for your business, but you do have some obligations to follow under Australia Consumer Law if you want to do that.

Making an incorrect statement about products made in Australia can lead to fines up to $1.1 million, so it’s worth it to educate yourself about what you need to know.

To help ensure you’re making these claims correctly, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has created the Country of origin claims and the Australian Consumer Law guide, which you can download from that link.

Wayne Robert Mansfield of Perth, Western Australia, sent hundreds of thousands of unsolicited emails to individuals ans organisations in New Zealand in 2010. The emails were promoting his company, Business Seminars NZ.

After more than 50 complaints from recipients who said they had no business contact with Mansfield’s company and had continued receiving messages even after unsubscribing from them, the Department of Internal Affairs decided to take legal action against Mansfield under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.

High Court Justice Edwin Wylie imposed a fine of $95,000 and awarded costs of more than $8000 against Mansfield in August 2013.

This wasn’t the first time Mansfield has been fined for spamming.

In 2006, Mansfield and his Perth-based company Clarity1 Pty Ltd were fined a total of A$5.5 million in the Australian Federal Court for sending 70 million spam emails to about 5 million recipients between 2004 and 2006.

To read more about this story, click here.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority took proceedings against Mr Phillips for breaches of the Spam Act and the Trade Practies Act., with Mr Phillips being the first person in Australia who had contested the contraventions of the Spam Act.

Justice Logan of the Federal Court is quoted as saying that Mr Hillips was “…at the most senior level…it it involved systematic and studied deception of those who use internet dating websites.”

Read the full SMH article here.