6 ms·

The ACCC makes me proud to be Australian.

senectus1 6y ago
yeah, underrated Function of Gov.
jiggawatts 6y ago
For non-aussie readers of YC News, the ACCC is an Australian federal government department that represents the consumer interests of the citizens. This is a particularly important function in cases where there is significant asymmetry in transactions, as is typical with large corporations versus many customers making small purchases. In scenario like that, a defrauded consumer has essentially no recourse, as nobody is willing to take a minor matter to court. Even if they do, they'll face an army of lawyers that will certainly drag out the proceedings until its Just Not Worth It for the angry consumer. Class action lawsuits, the type popular in the United States, are a joke, serving only to enrich lawyers. In Australia, the ACCC sues or directly penalises corporations on the behalf of consumers. They enforce laws related to things like warranty returns. They have a reputation for coming down like a ton of bricks on misbehaving businesses, with eye-watering fines for even minor things like putting up an invalid "no returns" policy sign at the cash register. As a consequence of ACCC's actions, consumer confidence is increased, so people spend more, boosting the overall business activity in Australia. Companies that behave have everything to gain and nothing to fear. Companies that try to rip off consumers are eliminated from the market, so that they can't unfairly compete with law-abiding companies by dropping prices to levels where legitimate behaviour is unsustainable. An anecdote: A local computer parts store refused to refund my $500 for a new GPU that was faulty. I told them that this was illegal, and they're running the risk of an ACCC fine. They just laughed at me. I did nothing about it, and jumped through the hoops to return the card to the manufacturer instead. Someone else must have reported them for their behaviour, and next time I was there I noticed a prominent sign at the cash register saying that they've been fined by the ACCC $750,000 and that they had to display this sign to notify customers of their rights. For a local, small business retailer this is a brutal fine, but they're still around and now they provide instant refunds for DoA parts without argument! Plus, the look on the face of the manager who refused my warranty claim was priceless. The system works.
- adamparsons 6y ago
  The MSY case was nothing short of incredible to watch go down. They were required to put a massive notice on their websites landing page about it too. From memory, they tried to hide it or make it tiny to view and ACCC came back and went "You really didn't learn huh? Wanna go for round 2?" and they went back to prominently displaying it again.
  - IntelMiner 6y ago
    I seem to remember their website flagrantly warning about their illegal returns/refunds "policy" With a giant red "THE ACCC HAS REQUIRED US TO LET ALL CUSTOMERS KNOW" etc etc at the top of the page
    - AndrewDavis 6y ago
      The best part of that was it was directly below their banner which had "MSY - The name you can trust"
  - chris_wot 6y ago
    Yeah, but let’s be honest, MSY is actually pretty good. I shop there all the time.
- hnick 6y ago
  MSY? My local had that sign up, apart from that I liked them so it's a shame they closed. ACCC won't help with individual cases, though they will follow up and levy fines like you've said. So you probably did the right thing for yourself by working around them in the short term. Apart from that you need a state authority, ombudsman, or something else for direct help.
  - mianos 6y ago
    Kensington? That one was so handy to me too.
    - 6y ago
WizardAustralis 6y ago
The ACCC is one of those beautiful things, a government department that works precisely as intended without drama or controversy.

yeah, underrated Function of Gov.

For non-aussie readers of YC News, the ACCC is an Australian federal government department that represents the consumer interests of the citizens. This is a particularly important function in cases where there is significant asymmetry in transactions, as is typical with large corporations versus many customers making small purchases. In scenario like that, a defrauded consumer has essentially no recourse, as nobody is willing to take a minor matter to court. Even if they do, they'll face an army of lawyers that will certainly drag out the proceedings until its Just Not Worth It for the angry consumer. Class action lawsuits, the type popular in the United States, are a joke, serving only to enrich lawyers. In Australia, the ACCC sues or directly penalises corporations on the behalf of consumers. They enforce laws related to things like warranty returns. They have a reputation for coming down like a ton of bricks on misbehaving businesses, with eye-watering fines for even minor things like putting up an invalid "no returns" policy sign at the cash register. As a consequence of ACCC's actions, consumer confidence is increased, so people spend more, boosting the overall business activity in Australia. Companies that behave have everything to gain and nothing to fear. Companies that try to rip off consumers are eliminated from the market, so that they can't unfairly compete with law-abiding companies by dropping prices to levels where legitimate behaviour is unsustainable. An anecdote: A local computer parts store refused to refund my $500 for a new GPU that was faulty. I told them that this was illegal, and they're running the risk of an ACCC fine. They just laughed at me. I did nothing about it, and jumped through the hoops to return the card to the manufacturer instead. Someone else must have reported them for their behaviour, and next time I was there I noticed a prominent sign at the cash register saying that they've been fined by the ACCC $750,000 and that they had to display this sign to notify customers of their rights. For a local, small business retailer this is a brutal fine, but they're still around and now they provide instant refunds for DoA parts without argument! Plus, the look on the face of the manager who refused my warranty claim was priceless. The system works.

adamparsons 6y ago
The MSY case was nothing short of incredible to watch go down. They were required to put a massive notice on their websites landing page about it too. From memory, they tried to hide it or make it tiny to view and ACCC came back and went "You really didn't learn huh? Wanna go for round 2?" and they went back to prominently displaying it again.
- IntelMiner 6y ago
  I seem to remember their website flagrantly warning about their illegal returns/refunds "policy" With a giant red "THE ACCC HAS REQUIRED US TO LET ALL CUSTOMERS KNOW" etc etc at the top of the page
  - AndrewDavis 6y ago
    The best part of that was it was directly below their banner which had "MSY - The name you can trust"
- chris_wot 6y ago
  Yeah, but let’s be honest, MSY is actually pretty good. I shop there all the time.
hnick 6y ago
MSY? My local had that sign up, apart from that I liked them so it's a shame they closed. ACCC won't help with individual cases, though they will follow up and levy fines like you've said. So you probably did the right thing for yourself by working around them in the short term. Apart from that you need a state authority, ombudsman, or something else for direct help.
- mianos 6y ago
  Kensington? That one was so handy to me too.
  - 6y ago

WizardAustralis 6y ago

The ACCC is one of those beautiful things, a government department that works precisely as intended without drama or controversy.