Australian consumers purchasing goods online have the same rights as those purchasing goods in a shopping centre, Deputy ACCC Chair, Ms Louise Sylvan, said today.
Ms Sylvan told an International Trade Law Conference organised by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department that a recent on-line survey conducted by the ACCC found many sites appeared to be trying to deny consumers their legal rights.
"More than 50 per cent of the Australian sites surveyed which sold goods or services contained online terms and conditions which attempted to disclaim consumers' warranty rights or limit liability," Ms Sylvan said.
"Some of these clauses, while far from best practice, were not inconsistent with consumers’ rights and remedies under the Trade Practices Act—for example, they appear to limit liability only to the extent permitted by the Act.
"However, other clauses did raise concerns because they misrepresent consumers’ rights. They failed to convey the level of protection consumers can expect under Australian consumer protection legislation.
"Others clauses went further still, attempting to exclude basic statutory rights which are implied by the Trade Practices Act and cannot be excluded.
"In short, the Trade Practices Act DOES apply to the internet, and business and consumers have the same rights and responsibilities trading on the internet as they do in a regular store."
Ms Sylvan also warned business about threats they face as a result of online scams such as fake billing, when payment is sought for bogus entries in trade journals and magazines, and the recent Domain Names Australia case.
The Federal Court found Domain Names Australia Pty Ltd breached the Trade Practices Act by sending out misleading or deceptive notices inviting the recipient to register and pay for a particular internet domain name.
In many cases the name referred to in the notice was similar to the recipient's existing internet domain name—for example, a business with the domain name ‘www.mybusiness.com.au’ may have been sent a renewal notice for ‘www.mybusiness.com’.
"The internet has been a great boon for Australian consumers and business. It’s a good resource for consumers and for business it removed geographic barriers and allowed them to compete for markets way beyond our modest population, enabling Australia to enhance its competitiveness," Ms Sylvan told the conference.
"The downside is that the scamsters have become smart about the technology too and honest businesses, consumers, and regulators need to do more to ensure that shopping and transacting online is just as safe as shopping in person at the mall."