The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has re-instituted legal proceedings against nine Harvey Norman franchisees for allegedly misrepresenting consumer rights.
In November last year, the ACCC issued proceedings against 11 franchisees located in different states in the Sydney Federal Court, but the court determined each matter was unrelated and should be heard separately and only the proceedings against Harvey Norman Gordon Superstore could proceed under the initial case.
The commission has now instituted new separate proceedings for each of the nine franchisees, alleging each misrepresented consumer rights in different ways.
The alleged misrepresentations include the franchisees having no obligation to provide compensation or remedy for damaged goods unless notified within a specific time frame, the businesses having no obligation to provide remedy for goods still covered by warranty and consumers needing to pay for the return and repair of faulty goods.
The nine stores are located around Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Unemployment rate drops slightly
Australia’s unemployment rate has defied analysts’ expectations and fallen slightly against an upwardly revised April figure.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this morning revealed the current unemployment rate is 5.5%, with the total number of jobs in Australian increasing by 1100 to a seasonally adjusted 11.6643 million in May.
Full-time employment fell by 5300 jobs while part-time employment increased by 6400 jobs.
Analysts were predicting there would be a rise in unemployment to 5.6% in May.
Shares slip
Australian shares have fallen lower again this morning, with the Australian stock market continuing its recent downward trajectory.
The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was down 50.1 points to 4674.4 at 12.30pm.
The Dow Jones closed 0.84% lower last night, slipping 126.79 points to 14,995.23.
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