Real Estate Fake Bidders to be Fined
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will put forward a new law aimed at businesses involved in misleading and deceptive conduct, including real estate agents. According to the Australian consumer watchdog, real estate agencies that practice under-quoting and dummy bidding will be fined up to $1.1 million from activities.
According to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman Graeme Samuel, the bill is now before the Senate. This outlines that business will have a maximum penalty of $1.1 million, while individuals can be fined up to $220,000.
“It’s a generic law that applies to all misleading and deceptive conduct — false labelling, false pricing on goods, everything,” said Samuel. “It will cover under-quoting by real estate agents, dummy bidding, the airbrushing of photos.” he said. “It’s a substantial improvement on where we’ve been for the last 30 years.”
Under the new bill, businesses could be issued with a substantiation notice where they would have to back up their claims. If they are unable to back up their claims, the will be charged with misleading and deceptive conduct.
“It’s been virtually impossible for us to get compensation or damages or restitution for consumers who suffer loss if a business misleads or deceives them. This new law will give us the capacity to go to court on behalf of consumers,” said Samuel.
