The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court Perth against Commodore Homes (WA) Pty Ltd, a member of the Buckridge Group of Companies alleging breaches of the false, misleading, deceptive and unconscionable conduct provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
The ACCC alleges that in the lead up to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, Commodore Homes represented to potential homebuyers that if they signed up with Commodore Homes, they would have their homes built by 1 July 2000, and would therefore avoid having to pay any GST. Delays in construction of the new homes meant, however, that many homes were, in fact, not completed by that date yet Commodore Homes tried to recover the GST component from those homebuyers. The ACCC alleges that the representations made by Commodore Homes amounted to false, misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of the Act. The ACCC also alleges that the manner in which Commodore Homes tried to recover the GST from some of the homebuyers breached the unconscionable conduct provisions in section 51AB of the Act. For example, in some cases the ACCC allege Commodore Homes withheld keys to completed homes until the outstanding GST amount was paid by purchasers.
In taking the Court action, the ACCC is seeking:
- declarations that Commodore Homes' conduct breached the Trade Practices Act
- orders restraining Commodore Homes from engaging in such conduct in the future
- a requirement that Commodore Homes publish a corrective public notice and implement a Trade Practices compliance program
- refunds of the GST monies paid to Commodore Homes by those affected homebuyers
- costs
The GST enforcement objectives will continue to be a priority for the ACCC until the expiration of the GST transition period on 30 June 2002. The matter has been listed for a directions hearing on 20 April in Perth.