18 October 2018

Access Canberra takes local plumbing company to court for misleading advertising

| Lachlan Roberts
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Photo: ACT Government.

Access Canberra has announced it is taking a local plumbing company to the ACT Supreme Court, alleging the company deceived and mislead customers with its advertising.

The Commissioner for Fair Trading alleges that the company, Your Local Plumbing Group Pty Ltd, made false and misleading representations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the advertising of plumbing services in the ACT.

It is alleged that in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law (ACT), Your Local Plumbing Group Pty Ltd advertised that the plumbing service had been in operation for at least 25 years, or in some cases 30 years, when in fact the business is only three years old.

The Commissioner for Fair Trading also alleges the company published advertisements under various business names, which represented that the advertised services were supplied by unrelated businesses, when in fact the businesses were related.

ACT Fair Trading Commissioner David Snowden said it is alleged that variations of the advertisements were published over 100 times between 2016 and 2018 in local publications as well as in the Yellow Pages and online.

“Based on the number of advertisements published under different business names, it is alleged that consumers may have formed the impression that the plumbing services were offered by unrelated businesses when that is not the case,” Mr Snowden said.

“It is also alleged that Your Local Plumbing Group Pty Ltd misrepresented the number of years that it had been operating. This case highlights the need for all licensed individuals and companies to ensure that advertisements are accurate and not misleading.”

It is also alleged that the sole director and shareholder of Your Local Plumbing Group Pty Ltd, Mr Shameer Khan, was knowingly concerned in the alleged conduct.

Your Local Plumbing Group Pty Ltd was registered as a company on 21 May 2015 and it is alleged the company published advertisements under the names Canberra Blocked Drain Services, Canberra Emergency Hot Water Solutions, Canberra Hot Water Systems and Repairs, Canberra Solar Hot Water Solutions, P1 Plumbing and Electrical Services, Priority One Plumbing and Electrical Services, North Canberra Plumbing, Roof Plumbing Canberra, Sam’s Local Plumbing, Tuggeranong Plumbing and Your Local Plumber ACT.

The Commissioner for Fair Trading will seek declarations, injunctions, pecuniary penalties, corrective advertising, and costs through the proceedings.

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Can they get onto NordVPN next? Those ads are so misleading and full of complete lies it makes me cringe every time I see one. Preying on peiple who don’t know any better.

So have you lodged a complaint with them to investigate?

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