Fair Trading fences off dishonest tradies

A Gold Coast fencer and concreter has been convicted and fined $20,000 in the Southport Magistrates Court (12 December 2022) for failing to provide fencing services at a Southport apartment complex.

Joel Jeffrey Wilkinson, trading as Joel Wilkinson Concreting was also ordered to pay $3,379 compensation to his client.

Mr Wilkinson accepted a $3,379 deposit for the supply and repair of fencing, which was to commence on 13 July 2022. After this date passed the trader advised that they would not be able to complete the job for the price that was quoted and offered a full refund. However, the consumer had no further contact from Mr Wilkinson and no refund was provided.

Magistrate Turra considered the unscrupulous manner in which Mr Wilkinson acted and the fact that he was not cooperative with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), noting his previous dishonesty convictions.

Commissioner for Fair Trading Victoria Thomson said traders must not accept payment from consumers if they know, or ought to reasonably know, they can’t deliver the goods or services.

The OFT encourages consumers who have purchased goods or services but have not received them to approach the trader in the first instance. If this is unsuccessful, they should lodge a complaint with the OFT at www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading or by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68).