Be aware the following information relates to consumer transaction that occurred before 1 Janaury 2011.  For information relating to transactions made after 1 January 2011 please refer to the Australian Consumer Law.

• Do consumers have to pay for unsolicited goods?
• What should consumers do with unsolicited goods?
• Are consumers responsible for damage to unsolicited goods?
• When can consumers receive credit or debit cards?
• False bills for advertising.

Do consumers have to pay for unsolicited goods?

No, it is an offence for someone to ask for payment from a consumer for goods or services that they did not order.  The biller is not allowed to do anything to get payment from the consumer.  They cannot threaten the consumer with legal action, send debt collectors or place the consumer's name on any list of defaulters.

What should consumers do with unsolicited goods?

If consumers have not ordered goods, they do not have to pay for them.  They can do one of two things:

• The consumer can notify the sender of the goods that they do not want them.  This notification must be in writing, and the cionsumer must give the sender their name, address, address to collect the goods from and a statement saying that the goods are unsolicted.  The sender then has one month to collect the goods otherwise the consumer may keep the goods at no charge.
• The consumer can do nothing in which case the sender of the goods has three months to collect the goods otherwise the consumer may keep the goods at no charge.

If the consumer could reasonably expect that the goods were not for them the consumer is not permitted to keep them, nor is the consumer allowed to prevent the owner or sender of the goods from taking the goods back.

Are consumers responsible for damage to unsolicited goods?

Consumers are only responsible for damage t goods while they are waiting for the sender to claim them if the damage is wilful or unlawful.  For example if the consumer deliberately left the goods in the rain they would be responsible for any damage.

When can consumers receive credit or debit cards?

The only credit or debit card that can be sent to a consumer is one which they have ordered in writing.  Consumers can also receive replacements for expired or lost cards that they had ordered previously.

False bills for advertising.

It is an offence for people to attempt to collect bills for advertising in directories if that advertising was not ordered.  People can't try to collect money for advertising unless they know or have reasonable cause to believe the person from whom they are attemting to collect the bill from, has authorised the advertising.  Nonetheless, scams of this kind are increasingly common and it is strongly suggested that businesses adopt the following practices to avoid being caught out:

• be wary of any telephone calls seeking advertising;
• adopt a standard procedure in relation to the ordering of advertising;
• ask for proof of the publisher's existence, sponsorhip and circulation;
• insist on seeing proof of the advertisement and ensure that no money is paid until proof is provided; and,
• check invoices carefully.

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