Consumers have spoken up against motor dealerships across the State, as the NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register reveals Heartland Motors and Ford Motor Australia have received over 10 complaints each for the month of October.
Commissioner for Fair Trading Rose Webb said the complaints largely related to retail services but consumers were also unhappy with motor vehicle repairs and maintenance.
"By making the Complaints Register publicly accessible, we hope to give businesses such as these an incentive to deliver better customer service," Ms Webb said.
When a business is subject to multiple complaints, Fair Trading assigns the trader a Case Manager to maintain an overview of the reports against that business and identify any emerging issues or potential breaches of the Australian Consumer Law.
This month consumers were also left underwhelmed by services provided by real estate agencies, with Ray White (21 complaints received), LJ Hooker (16) and Raine & Horne (14) making up a proportion of complaints.
Ms Webb said Fair Trading will continue to work with real estate agencies who may not be meeting their obligations to consumers.
"Most of the real estate industry complaints that consumers have reported this month relate to tenancy, so I want to assure consumers that Fair Trading will follow the appropriate process to ensure businesses understand their responsibilities as service providers," Ms Webb said.
Ms Webb said Fair Trading has multiple enforcement options including penalties of up to $1.1 million for corporations and $220,000 for individuals for misleading consumers."
