Fraudulent, misleading and deceptive eBay listings are breaking Australian consumer laws. The blatant and intentional misuse of the multiple listings template by eBay sellers is a serious breach of schedule 2 of the Australian Consumer Law. eBay needs put an end to this deceptive practice immediately.
If an individual or business advertises a product with detailed descriptions of the make model etc even pictures pictures, and only once the customer is enticed into the fraudulent offer it is revealed its infact a totally different product and price etc, they could find themselves in court on charges including consumer fraud.
Schedule 2 of the Australian Consumer Law deals with misleading or deceptive conduct. It covers unconscionable conduct, unfair practices, conditions and warranties, product safety and information, liability of manufacturers for goods with safety defects offences, country of origin representations.
The law is in place to protect consumers from being misled about the products and services they buy. Businesses are not allowed to make statements that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression. This applies to their advertising, their product packaging, and any information provided by their staff or online shopping services. It also applies to any statements made by businesses in the media or online, such as testimonials on their websites or social media pages.
It makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead a consumer or not. If the overall impression left by a business’s advertisement, promotion, quotation, statement or other representation creates a misleading impression in a consumer’s mind—such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services—then the behaviour is likely to breach the law.
Fair trading and consumer protection agencies
Complaints about the following can also be directed to State/Territory consumer protection agencies:
- advertisements that do not comply with Commonwealth law or the relevant State/Territory law
- misleading or deceptive advertising
- misrepresentation in advertising, which is likely to cause damage to the business or goodwill of the competitor
- the exploitation of community concerns in relation to portraying a product or service as benefiting the environment, if it does not.
- advertisements which make claims about the Australian origin or content of products in a manner which is misleading
