Displaying items by tag: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australia’s competition regulator the ACCC says unfair contract terms are a big focus as it takes action and moves to ensure small businesses are not at a disadvantage because of one-sided ‘take it or leave it’ contracts.

Australians are expected to suffer record losses to scammers exceeding $532 million by the end of this year, surpassing half a billion dollars for the first time, according to the latest Scamwatch report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Australia’s competition regulator, the ACCC, is proposing to authorise a new consumer code for retailers of products such as solar generation systems, energy storage systems, electrical vehicle charging and other emerging energy products and services.

Competition law expert and former Australian Government Solicitor Stephen Ridgeway has been appointed to the ACCC as a Commissioner.

The Australian competition watchdog has released draft rules for the Consumer Data Right and has invited consumers, businesses and community organisations to send in their feedback by 10 May so that the rules can take effect from 1 July.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced that it will hand down its final decision on the proposed merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia on 9 May.

Internet service provider Activ8me has been fined $250,000 by the Federal Court for false and misleading advertising about its services and not displaying a single price in these ads.

Testing of broadband speeds by the ACCC has shown that fibre-to-the-premises and hybrid fibre coaxial connections deliver about 86% to 87% of plan speeds during busy hours — 7pm to 11pm — compared to about 79% for fibre-to-the-node connections.

Australians are increasingly raising issues about faulty products and services with the national consumer watchdog, the ACCC, with the regulator receiving nearly 34,000 contacts about consumer guarantee related issues in 2018 – an increase of more than 17% compared to 2017.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says the proposed merger between Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom must be viewed through the lens of ensuring consumers a competitive and affordable telco sector.

The competition watchdog's inquiry into the wholesale service standards of NBN Co has entered its second phase and will consider whether regulation is needed to improve customer experience.

Australia’s competition watchdog, the ACCC, has joined the European Commission and 24 other countries in a new global campaign focused on reducing the number of unsafe consumer products being sold online.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has rubbished a Google-funded report that claims news aggregators - like the search engine firm - can help struggling publishers by easing some of the negative consequences of digital disruption.

Fitness tracker manufacturer Fitbit has admitted that it provided misleading information to Australians about their customer guarantee rights under Australian Consumer Law.

The competition watchdog, the ACCC, has launched its quest for submissions to its upcoming digital platforms public inquiry, including a review of whether digital platforms have affected media organisations’ ability to fund and produce quality news and journalistic content for Australians.

There has been a significant rise in the number of small businesses raising issues of alleged misleading conduct, false representations and consumer guarantees with the competition watchdog, the ACCC, in the second half of last year.

The consumer watchdog, the ACCC, is scrutinising proposed changes to Telstra’s NBN migration plan to assess whether they offer adequate protections for customers to maintain access to the services delivered by the national broadband network, as part of the industry and public consultation process.

Can a government organisation (the ACCC) solve the NBN mess created by the government organisation that caused it (NBN Co), or will we just end up with 29 recommendations spanning a wide range of competition and consumer issues in communications markets?

After the ACCC raised concerns about Telstra's disclosure of the size of its viewing screen available on mobiles and tablets, the telco is "offering refunds to some AFL Live Pass app subscribers".

The only legitimate organisation that ever accepts an iTunes gift card is Apple, and then only via its iDevices and Macs, so if you’re ever asked to provide one as payment – it’s a scam!