From tradies to online retailers and even the small business someone in your community runs - they are all bound by Australian Consumer Law and they must ensure their customers get what they for paid for.
This means businesses must not accept payment for goods or services if they do not intend to supply them, if they intend to supply materially different goods or services, or if they knew (or should have known) they would not be able to supply the goods or services in a timely manner.
In the past 12 months, Consumer Protection has received 25 complaints about tradespeople requesting deposits or payment in full and then not delivering the service.
When it comes to online retailers, the statistics tell a bleaker story. In the last 12 months there has been more than 140 complaints made about online retailers not delivering what consumers have paid for. Over 100 of those complaints have occurred just within this year.
