Forced strip searches in shops - what are your rights?

Where will the lunacy of some stores end?

The detention of an eight and a half months pregnant 40-year old woman in a liquor store in the Ipswich suburb of Springfield Lakes - who was forced to expose her belly in front of a store full of male shoppers - highlights the need for urgent legislation to outlaw this reprehensible practice.

The woman went to the 1st Choice Liquor store at Springfield Lakes on Monday evening and was told to lift her top to prove that she wasn't slipping stolen liquor down her pants next to her bulging belly.

The woman was mortified especially when she was told that if she didn't comply, the police would be called.

How could a heavily pregnant woman, who was totally humiliated by the experience, stand around for half an hour or waiting for the police to prove her innocence?

She was stripped of her dignity by staff who far exceeded their legal rights.

Queensland Consumer Watch is calling for the State Government to ban private strip searches of customers in shops throughout Queensland.

Strip searches are not the responsibility of untrained staff conducting random body and clothing checks in stores across Australia.

It is a degrading thing to happen to any person, let alone a 40-year old woman who is eight and half months pregnant.

Queensland Consumer Watch spokesman, Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully, described the incident as totally appalling and an invasion of individual rights.

Cr Tully said it was disgraceful that an eight and a half month pregnant woman had been humiliated in public for such a minor matter.

"The liquor store should be forced to apologise and pay compensation to this woman for the degrading way she was treated.

"The State Government should make it illegal for store owners to require shoppers to submit to strip searches in public.

"This is a matter for the police - not voyeurs working in liquor stores forcing pregnant women to undertake partial strip searches in front of other beady-eyed customers.

"The government needs to move quickly to ban this sort of unacceptable practice.

"Here we have a totally innocent woman being forced to parade her naked midriff inside a busy liquor store after being falsely accused of shoplifting," Cr Tully said.

WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS?

1. A customer can refuse a body search, frisking and can legally ignore a demand to remove any clothing.

2. Store employees have no right to touch a customer or delay or impede the customer leaving a store.

3. Customers cannot be detained by staff.

4. Customers have the right to leave of their own free will and do not have to wait until police arrive.

5. Stores have the right to ban customers without giving a reason.

HAVE YOU HAD AN UNTOWARD EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS IN A STORE?
Email Queensland Consumer Watch with your story.

Is it time to stop the practice of tying up mudcrabs?

Charis Seafood Kiosk and Market at 6 Marine Parade Labrador on the northern end of the Gold Coast is one of the best and most well-known award-winning seafood establishments in Queensland.

Their business has grown into a tremendous facility serving thousands of satisfied customers every week.

They have even branched out into the entertainment industry with the feeding of the wild pelicans every day at 1.30pm - to the absolute delight of hundreds of locals and tourists.

Charis' commitment to the preservation of the local wildlife - with the pelicans flying in each day for a free feed of filleted fish frames - is widely applauded by the community.

But step inside the store and there is another issue which must be faced up to sooner or later.

And that is whether or not it is appropriate in today's enlightened environment for mudcrabs to be tied up in a large tank in the corner of a seafood shop or restaurant.

It is standard industry practice to do what Charis Seafoods is doing and no aspersions are being cast against this well-respected company.

Right across Queensland, crabs are routinely tied up with thin rope in such a way as to prevent all but slight movement by the crustacean.

Imagine a cow or a dog being hog-tied for days on end, unable to effectively move - the RSPCA would be very quick to act against such cruelty.

Now is an appropriate time for a mature public discussion about whether or not it is right for mudcrabs to be tied up for long periods, as they await their fate as a gastronomic delight for some salivating seafood lover.

Should mudcrabs be permitted to move around freely in their dying hours or should they be allowed to be hog-tied like a wild animal - living in torment as they await their final fate of being cooked alive in a pot of boiling hot water?

The restaurant industry is sure to have strong views over this issue and will undoubtedly justify the current arrangements which sees thousands of mudcrabs tied up in large waterless tanks around Queensland every week.

The Queensland Government and the RSPCA need to address this issue as a matter of priority.

The following link to Fishing Hurts clearly makes the case that crabs feel pain.

Should the current practice be allowed to continue in Queensland or should mudcrabs be able to move about freely in the last few days of their relatively short lives?

Tying the crabs' claws together might be a safety issue when they are first caught.

But can we sit back and allow the keeping of these crustaceans - hog-tied for days on end in crowded tanks - awaiting some cashed-up customer to buy 'em, boil 'em and make a banquet of 'em?

The sooner this practice stops, the better.


To view all items on this website: Click here.

What do you think of the practice of hog-tying mudcrabs
in restaurants as they await their final fate?

Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer
issue involving commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs
or unacceptable business practices?

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details for the whole world to read.

B&W Cabs fail the people of Brisbane again!

The following email - published below - has been received from Trevor Michie.

The attitude of B&W cab drivers and their standard of service must be the worst in Australia.

Aren't taxi drivers supposed to complete a course before being let loose on the public with sub-standard knowledge of Brisbane suburbs and landmarks?

But the worst of all about the complaints received by Queensland Consumer Watch against B&W Cabs is that they NEVER respond adequately - or at all - and treat their customers as a joke.

No wonder B&W has been languishing as Brisbane's second-rate taxi service since 1936.

From: Trevor Michie
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2009 19:28
To: QueenslandConsumerWatch@gmail.com
Subject: Taxi from Brisbane Domestic to Marque Hotel

To: shift.manager@blackandwhitecabs.com.au
info@blackandwhitecabs.com.au;
complaints@blackandwhitecabs.com.au
Subject: Taxi from Brisbane Domestic to Marque Hotel
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2009 19:02

My wife has had an experience that has sent shivers down my spine.

My wife arrived from Melbourne and caught a Black and White cab from Brisbane Airport to Marque Hotel around 5pm on Saturday the 3rd of January EXCEPT the cab driver, decided that it should have been Mecure Hotel DESPITE my wife showing the driver the Name of the hotel and address of George Street on the hotel reservation confirmation sheet.

This is not acceptable. My wife was intimidated and hopped out of the cab at Mecure as she felt the attitude of the driver was not amenable to her continuing her journey.

The Turkish driver would not accept the fact that she was staying at the Marque. I am sure this does not meet your usually high quality standards and I am confident you will address the situation immediately.

I await your reply.

Trevor Michie


Dear Trevor

Queensland Consumer Watch sympathises with the shabby way in which your wife has been treated. I recall a possibly more-exasperating experience 15 years ago when a group of punters from Goodna, including myself, led by "Colonel" Keiron Butler flew to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup. With four hours to kill, we asked the taxi driver to take us to Parliament House. Twenty minutes later, we arrived in the heart of Melbourne outside a place with flashing lights, discreet signage and concealed entrances. "Is this Parliament House," we asked. "Yah, yah - diss is Parla Massage". "No" the Colonel protested, we want "Parliament House." "Youa no pay, I calla da police," the cabbie screamed in some foreign language. The Colonel quickly forked out the fare and spent the next hour trudging across town on a hot November morning whingeing all the way to Parliament House - which was bloody well closed because it was public holiday in Melbourne!


HAVE YOU HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH A TAXI DRIVER?
Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer issue involving
commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
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Warning to all Queenslanders over water filters

The following warning has been received by Queensland Consumer Watch:

From: Dezmondo Snitchwatch
Email: niemtel@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:21


Queenslanders being ripped off.

Warning to all Queenslanders


I would like to bring to the notice of all Queenslanders, that are purchasing filters and particularly Revers Osmosis filters, after the fluoridation of our drinking water.

Beware of who you purchase from: Really shop around.

Since this forced medication, there are a number of business, that are raising there prices well above there normal retail mark, particularly one that has doubled the price.

Though there is possibly more.

This is a blatant commercial exploitation, and customer rip-off.

The business that I wish to report is Filter Wizard.

http://www.filterwizard.com.au/

This company only a few days ago was selling a unit on Ebay buy it now at $280 plus $55 postage. Had quite a few for sale some with a week to go.

However within the last two days, on his web site he is selling the same unit for $650 Free delivery and free, install (which any person can do).

However when I asked how much for the unit if I picked it up and installed myself, I was quoted $580.

I went back to his site on Ebay, and noted he had removed all his listings.

So Queenslanders Beware: shop around, there are a multitude of sharks out there, now preying on people that do not wish to participate in the fluoride medication.

Deal with a reputable business, you can still get the same quality this shark is selling for around $245 to $320, in the southern states.

And of course there is Oztion and Ebay.

Don't fall prey to a shark.

People like this should be reported to the ACCC.

Des.


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B&W Cabs lets down Brisbane taxi users again

Queensland Consumer Watch has received the following email from a distraught Brisbane cab user.

When will the authorities take serious action against these recalcitrant drivers?

Dear Sir/Madam

I wish to lodge a complaint about....

1. One driver in particular and several other drivers of Indian appearance refusing to take me from the cab rank opposite Brisbane casino up the hill to Wickham Terrace because the journey was too short and they only made seven dollars out of it.

2. Two other occasions 24 to 27 December where I got in with Indian cab drivers of varied cab companies. They couldn't speak proper English and they didn't know where Wickham Terrace was let alone the Metro Tower Mill Hotel.

My name is Charles Rablin I am the holder of disability pension card CRN 000-000-000T for the disability of chronic pain polyarthritis rhumatica. At approximately 9.30pm 26 December 2008 I went to the cab rank opposite Brisbane casino.

I was wearing an Akubra hat and vest. I am a non drinker. I asked the first driver on the rank of Indian appearance to take me to Wickham Terrace and he said "no see one of the drivers further down."

I walked to the end of the rank asking drivers for the destination of Wickham Terrace and they shook their heads indicating no. There were a dozen empty cabs on the rank.

At the end of the rank the driver said I had to take the first cab off the rank. I went to the front of the rank and asked a different driver to before and I said he had to take Metro Wickham Terrace because he was first on the rank. He said that he would take me but he had to charge me $20.

When I told him he should charge me what is on the meter he then refused to take me. He was driving black and white cab T99 734.

I rang Black and White cabs to send someone to pick me up and they said they were under instructions to direct all cabs to the rank and to try again what I had already done or try to find the rank supervisor.

It then began to rain a I started to walk towards my hotel. I was able to hail a Black and White cab off the streets. A kindly man of European appearance took me to my destination and charged me seven dollars.

It is fairly clear that Black and White cabs is not providing the level of service to the public that it should be providing and I intend to take this matter up with the appropriate government regulatory body.

Regards

Charles Rablin

The cowboys in the taxi industry should be given the Royal Order of the Boot for their treatment of disability pensioner Charles Rablin.

It is clear that Black and White Cabs has no interest in serving the public or resolving complaints made by the public.

A complaint was made to Black and White Cabs on 29 June 2008 by a member of the public about the actions of one of their cab drivers.

The complainant is still waiting for Black and White cabs to call him back.

So much for professional service and a proper complaint handling procedure by Black and White Cabs. You would think that the dwarf of the taxi industry in Brisbane would be at least trying to better its performance and image.


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commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
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world to read.

NAB lets down The Good Guys at Oxley and the Public

THE GOOD GUYS AT OXLEY OFFER SECOND-RATE SERVICE THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN.



The NAB has made record profits in recent years but has failed to keep up with modern technology in servicing its corporate customers.

Tate Mason's Good Guys store at Oxley has been waiting for over 6 months since 4 June 2008 to have its equipment updated to enable the use of the new "Pen or Pin" technology which became operational on that date.

That is according to a Good Guys salesperson "K Stratos" who served a customer last week and explained that they were still waiting for an "equipment upgrade from the NAB" to enable purchasers to use the much more secure PIN for credit transactions than an easily-forgeable signature.

The customer was politely told that the PIN facility was not yet available essentially because of the corporate recalcitrance of the NAB.

The Good Guys should be jumping up and down over their own bank's absolutely third-rate performance on this issue.

This alternative method of finalising a credit transaction has been operational across Australia for over six months, yet large companies such as The Good Guys at Oxley are still being forced to provide second rate service to their customers because of their bank's failure to move with the times.

The secure PIN service has been available across Australia

since 4 June 2008 but not at The Good Guys Oxley - because
of the commercial recalcitrance of the NAB.

With 2009 looming, maybe its time that The Good Guys dump the NAB and look for a bank which can keep up with modern technology.

According to "K Stratos", she cannot give any indication when the problem will be fixed because she doesn't work for the bank - proving that The Good Guys should quickly move to another bank which suits the needs of both The Good Guys and their thousands of disappointed and angry customers.

Do you have a contribution about a commercial outlet
whose bank has failed to upgrade their equipment to

cater for the new PIN facility or some other Queensland
consumer issue involving commercial exploitation, customer
ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?

Email QueenslandConsumerWatch@gmail.com with full
details for the whole world to read.

Upside down billboards should be banned from our highways

It might be a catchy way of drawing attention attention to the product but the spate of those idiotic, upside down advertisements sponsored by Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) beggars belief.

PPQ's latest upside down advertising sign is in a 90kph zone adjacent to the Ipswich Motorway at Redbank - 25km west of Brisbane - where 100,000 drivers a day have to twist their heads like rubber-necking professional contortionists to read the inverted advertisement for personalised number plates.

Even if drivers try to decipher the upside down wording from their normal driving position, they can be unduly distracted by a such a sign.

In an area notorious for its high accident rate, it is incomprehensible that PPQ Queensland would claim on its website http://www.ppq.com.au/ to be "Proudly Supporting Queensland Road Safety" when the upside down advertising signs simply induce drivers to strain their necks upside down or back to front - just to read a sign featuring the official drunken, no-hoper of Springfield - Homer Simpson.

This section of the Ipswich Motorway is soon to be upgraded to six lanes by the State Government and will become even more dangerous when it is a construction zone.

PPQ should set a real road safety lead and immediately ban these unsafe, upside down billboards. At a time when we should be encouraging drivers to keep their eyes on the road, why has PPQ embarked on an advertising campaign which is nothing but an extraordinary distraction for drivers.

What a furore there would be if someone caused a serious accident and claimed they were distracted by this upside down billboard.

Heads would roll and changes would be made within 24 hours.

PPQ should not wait for a tragedy to happen. They should get on the front foot by scrapping these woeful and potentially accident-causing, upside down billboards.

They should then sack their advertising agency for creating such a monumental stuff up.

Have they considered the possible consequences of this type of signage?

Alternatively, they could follow the Tasmanian model where the State Government has banned all billboards from the State's highways, allowing only directional and information signage - resulting in a safer and less-cluttered environment with drivers no longer constantly bombarded with advertising trivia.


Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer issue involving
commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
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Sunshine Coast Daily backs nationwide recycling scheme

This is today's editorial in The Sunshine Coast Daily - 18 September 2008

IN OUR OPINION

Bring back the bottle deposits

The State Government should heed calls to encourage the recycling of empty bottles through the introduction of a deposit scheme.

South Australia has had compulsory bottle deposits in place since 1977 to encourage recycling and reduce waste.

A deposit system for empty bottles in Queensland was abolished 30 years ago.

Queensland Consumer Watch spokesman Paul Tully said the time had come for a 10 cent mandatory container deposit scheme.

As he points out, it is a tragedy that millions of empty bottles are dumped at land fills around Queensland every year when they could be recycled.

Generations of Queenslanders will no doubt remember the days when they could earn good pocket money by handing in bottles.

Compulsory deposits on all drink containers would be a major boost for the environment as well as performing an educational role by encouraging everyone to recycle their waste containers.

The Queensland opposition has backed the call, with environment spokesman Dave Gibson labelling the Bligh government "lazy" for ignoring community concerns over the issue.

And with South Australia recycling twice as many drink containers, it's clear the deposit scheme is worth implementing.

Let's hope the idea can be implemented nationally.


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commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
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Coca-Cola becomes an anti-environment Australian disgrace

Coca-Cola Amatil Australia has been dealt an embarrassing blow to its national credibility by the company's Corporate Affairs Director Alec Wagstaff.

Despite the overwhelming success and community acceptance of the South Australian Container Deposit Legislation (CDL), Mr Wagstaff has highlighted Coca-Cola's anti-environment and anti-Australian stance with a boots and all attack on the system.

In today's Queensland Times in Ipswich Queensland, this corporate troglodyte is quoted as saying CDL is an outdated and expensive solution.

It has not been tried in Australia outside South Australia, so how can it be outdated? As for being expensive, the consumer pays an extra 10 cents at the point of purchase which is later fully refunded. What could be fairer than that?

Coca-Cola's Corporate Affairs intellectual giant goes onto say:

"It's a very complex system.

"We've got a terrific kerbside recovery that's hassle-free and convenient.

"The challenge is to increase our recycling rate."

Well, well, well Mr Wagstaff.

Seeing that you claim to be across this complex issue, how do you explain the data from the Total Environment Centre showing that the Australian national drink container recycling rate is about 40% while in South Australia it is as high as 80%. On the latest available annual figures, 420 million drink containers in South Australia were recycled out of a total of 540 million - the highest return rate of any state or territory in Australia.

And now a spokesman for Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has said container recycling is on the agenda for a future Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) meeting, comprising state and federal environment ministers in early 2009.

But the pace of change is quickening. Are you listening Mr Wagstaff? Family First senator Steve Fielding introduced a drink container recycling bill into the Senate in March of this year, proposing a system similar to South Australia's. Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria all have draft legislation prepared.

Coca-Cola is proving itself to be anti-environment and anti-Australian on this issue.

At a time when Australia and the rest of the world are becoming environmentally-conscious, Alec Wagstaff has been let loose on the Australian public telling us that Coca-Cola's current second-rate recycling system - outside South Australia is better than the high-successful model which has been operating in South Australia since 1977.

Coca-Cola is a multi-national conglomerate whose corporate greed outweighs its ability to join in with a new environmental initiative which would be good for Australia, good for the environment and would be a national model for the rest of the world.

Coca-Cola could do a lot worse than dumping its Corporate Affairs Director as its national spokesman and get someone in his place who is more in tune with our evolving environment and the aspirational hopes of millions of ordinary Australians.

Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer issue involving
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Call for compulsory cash deposits on Queensland bottles

MEDIA RELEASE FROM QUEENSLAND CONSUMER WATCH

CALL FOR COMPULSORY CASH DEPOSITS ON QUEENSLAND BOTTLES

A call has been made for Queensland to follow South Australia with a 10 cent deposit on all plastic and glass bottles sold in the state.


South Australia has had compulsory bottle deposits in place since 1977 to encourage recycling and reduce waste.

Queensland Consumer Watch spokesman and Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully said the time had come for mandatory container deposit legislation in this state.

He said consumers would be encouraged to return all bottles as part of a major environmental initiative from Coolangatta to Cape York and west to Mt Isa.

"It is a tragedy that millions of empty bottles are dumped at land fills around Queensland every year when they could be recycled.

"We used to have bottle deposits in Queensland under a scheme managed by soft drink manufacturers.

"Generations of Queenslanders will remember the days when they could earn good pocket money by handing in bottles but that system was abolished thirty years ago."

Cr Tully said compulsory deposits on all drink containers would be a major boost for the environment as well as performing an educational role by encouraging everyone to recycle their waste containers.

He said littering would be reduced because people would have real incentive to cash in their bottles or for collectors to pick them up from the side of the road.

"South Australia's initiative is widely supported by local residents in that state and could be easily extended to the other states and territories.

"The only opponents of this measure are the big manufacturers and bottle users who have a vested interest in ignoring the environmental damage they are causing in order to maximise their profits," Cr Tully said.

He called for Queensland to go-it-alone if the Federal Government was not prepared to introduce national container deposit legislation.


LINK TO SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CONTAINER DEPOSIT LEGISLATION SCHEME: www.epa.sa.gov.au/cdl.html


PAUL TULLY - COORDINATOR
QUEENSLAND CONSUMER WATCH
PO BOX 1
18 QUEEN ST
GOODNA QLD 4300
TEL 07 3818 6900
FAX: 07 3818 1099
EMAIL: QueenslandConsumerWatch@gmail.com
WEB: www.QueenslandConsumerWatch.com

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Australia Post Ripoff starts Monday 15 September 2008

Australia Post is about to ripoff 20 million Australians with its increase in the price of standard letters by a whopping 10%.

A jump of 5 cents to 55 cents will have a dramatic effect on many people in the community across Australia including pensioners and low income earners.

But Australia Post couldn't care less as they fleece Australian consumers as they bask in record profits.

The price hike for the basic letter rate is just the start as Australia Post embarks on the biggest price increase for letters and parcels in Australia's history.

But the classic rub-it-in-your-face move by Australia Post is the discount to be given for the first time for metered or imprinted letters without stamps. In its infinite corporate generosity, Australia Post has decided to offer a whopping 1 cent discount for such letters which can be posted for 54 cents instead of 55 cents.

What great fellas they are. They make Al Capone look like a timid Boy Scout on his way to Sunday School.

AL CAPONE:
He could have learnt
a thing or two from
Australia Post.

Of course, the amount of publicity given to this price rise by Australia Post is somewhere between Buckley's and none - except for this hard-to-find entry on their website:

Price Changes effective 15 September 2008

On 15 September 2008 a number of price changes will come into effect for domestic and international services.

The changes, which are necessary to cover the increased cost of providing these services, include changes to the Registered Post, Print Post and international letter and parcel services.

Additionally two new price categories will be introduced:

Metered/Imprint - provides a moderate discount for full rate letters where postage has been paid using a postage meter or via an Australia Post charge account; and
Acquisition Mail - an addressed, geographically targeted, non-personalised saturation delivery service

Price sheets detailing the specific changes are available via the links below. Please refer to these price sheets for non-contract articles.

The weighted average price changes include:
Domestic Letters - 8.1%
International Letters - 3.9%
Print Post - 2.8%
International Parcels - 3.8%
Registered Post - 2.7%

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Brisbane's Black & White taxi drivers give the public "Two to the Valley"

The driver of Brisbane Black and White Taxi T43 471 was either in a hell of a hurry because of some emergency or doesn't understand Queensland's Road Rules after his display of road rage on the Gateway Arterial on Saturday morning 28 June 2008.

Traffic was heavy with both lanes carrying vehicles northbound through the temporary 80kph section in the vicinity of Old Cleveland Road, where roadworks have required speed limit reductions.

But the 80kph limit was not enough for the driver of Taxi T43 471 with a B&W sign on top of his vehicle, proudly displaying by his antics that B&W drivers like him don't care about the road rules or speed limits.

He continually darted from the left lane to the right lane and back again, at one stage cutting off a driver sticking religiously to the 80kph limit.

In one dangerous manoeuvre, this taxi driver cut across the two lanes of traffic and extended his white, long sleeved arm full length out of the window managing to straighten his third and fourth fingers in a simultaneous horizontal and vertical display which would have brought credit to a top spin delivery by Shane Warne.

This driver then proceeded north at speeds approaching an estimated 100kph before being forced to stop at the Gateway Toll booth with six cars in front of him.

So, what did he do? He shoved the same arm out of the window in an exasperated rolling motion as if to tell the drivers in front of him to hurry up and clear the way for him.

This is one angry driver on the books of Black and White Taxis who will cause a serious accident one day.

A call to B&W Cabs to report this driver brought a pleasant response and a promise to investigate the matter.

The sooner B&W Cabs and the Queensland Department of Transport take this guy off the road the better.

Is this the new B&W Cabs official welcome by its Brisbane drivers
to the citizens of southeast Queensland?

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commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
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PEN or PIN - Pity that the clowns running Outlet Books at the Brisbane Airport DFO don't know the difference!

PEN or PIN is the brilliant, new initiative from 4 June 2008 to slowly move from authenticated signatures on credit card transactions to the use of a PIN, as with EFTPOS transactions.

But some retailers are acting like merchant dinosaurs in failing to properly train staff or adapt to the new system.

Take "Outlet Books" at Shop 50 at the Airport DFO in Brisbane whose PR skills make Belinda Neal look like a Sunday School Choir Leader.

The official new credit card operating procedures for all staff include the following key requirements in the Staff Training Materials:

• If the customer says it’s a ‘credit’ transaction, ask them if they want to enter their PIN.

• If the customer elects to use their PIN, ask them to enter their PIN into the PIN pad.

• Q: How will my procedures change? A: Your procedures should not change too much. When you ask the customer which account they wish to use they will respond with ‘credit’, ‘cheque’ or ‘savings’. If they say ‘credit’ ask them if they want to use their PIN. If they say ‘yes’ then pass them the PIN pad (or turn it) and ask them to enter their PIN then press the ‘OK/ENTER’ button. If the transaction is approved, pass one receipt to the customer and retain the other for your records. There is no need to ask the customer to sign the signature slip if the PIN has been used and the transaction has been APPROVED.

But that's not how it works at Outlet Books.

Today a customer when in to purchase a book and told the staff member that it was a credit transaction with a PIN.

The staff member proceeded to finalise the transaction - contrary to the above operating procedures - without querying if the customer intended to use a PIN and did not offer the customer the machine to key in the PIN.

The staff member then asked for a signature which the customer rightly refused, asking that the transaction be cancelled and re-processed as a credit card PIN transaction.

Outlet Books at the Brisbane Airport DFO where
the slogan: "Pen OR PIN - Now you have a choice"
means absolutely nothing!

The staff member stated that it was not possible to cancel the transaction as it had already been approved and then sought assistance from the manager who may also be the owner given her defiant attitude which ensued from that point on.

She stated that Outlet Books does not give refunds. That admission is interesting given that Outlet Books Pty Ltd is a trading corporation within the meaning of the Australian Constitution and is bound by the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act which prohibits corporations from refusing refunds. This is now a separate matter for the ACCC to look into.

The Manager then blamed the inexperienced casual staff member and then stated than PEN or PIN was an option - but failed to point out that it was at the option of the customer NOT the merchant.

The customer insisted that the transaction to be cancelled - correctly pointing out that the new system had commenced on 4 June and had had extensive publicity and newspaper advertising.

The Manager then stated that a PIN cannot be used with all cards yet and that because the customer had not told the staff member early enough in the transaction process that he wanted to use a PIN, it was too late to do so.

Hang on! Don't procedures state that the customer must be offered the choice? This was not done.

The machine would have shown the following display after the staff member entered the credit card details:

PIN or OK?

But the staff member chose to disregard this - overriding the customer's choice - and was therefore solely responsible for placing the customer in such a predicament.

After this was explained by the customer to the Manager, she fumed that every transaction cost her money to process but she would refund the amount.

She then proclaimed that she would NOT re-process the sale as a credit transaction with a PIN.

In other words, the customer could lump it or like it - sign the docket or get the refund and leave the store because she would not sell the book to the customer via the customer's preferred, rightful and lawful use of his credit card.

Outlet Books Pty Ltd uses the Commonwealth Bank as its Merchant Bank who really should crack down on this sort of commercial bastardry where a customer properly insists on an electronic refund and is then told that the bookstore will NOT re-process the order, and is therefore denied the right to purchase the book of their choice via the credit card and transaction type of their choice. This matter will be referred to the Commonwealth Bank who are invited to comment on their view of what happened today.

In the end, the customer chose the latter offer of a refund and a total sale cancellation with a refusal to process the sale via the customer's credit card with a PIN.

If all of this was not bizarre enough, read on:

In an endeavour to diffuse the situation, the customer said that he had often come to the store in the past to which the Manager retorted:

"Yes, I remember you. You raised this same matter previously when you were here with your wife."

The customer pointed out that he had never been there with his wife, that he had not been in the store since 4 June and therefore could not have previously raised the issue of PEN vs PIN.

In fact, the customer not been there for almost 6 months - at a time when the possible use of PINs with credit cards was not even on the horizon - rendering the manager's idiotic statement false and meaningless.

But the Manager still would not let go - even when she was totally wrong, sarcastically stating: "Well, it must have been someone who looked like you!"

Why in heaven's name did she not simply refund the customer's money, process the order in accordance with the customer's request and get on with running the store in a customer-friendly manner.

The customer got his refund and walked out of the store to the DFO Centre Manager Mark Bayes' office.

Mr Bayes is on leave for a week so Queensland Consumer Watch anxiously awaits his response to this tawdry incident.


Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer issue involving
commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
Email Queensland Consumer Watch with full details for the whole world to read.

Major legal loophole exposed in Queensland Blue Card Law

MEDIA RELEASE FROM IPSWICH COUNCILLOR PAUL TULLY

MAJOR LEGAL LOOPHOLE EXPOSED IN QUEENSLAND BLUE CARD LAW

CALL FOR SEX OFFENDERS TO BE BANNED FROM OPERATING ICE CREAM VANS IN QUEENSLAND

A major loophole in Queensland's Blue Card law has been exposed which allows convicted pedophiles to legally come into contact with young children by operating as mobile ice cream vendors.

The loophole was discovered by Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully after a parent complained that she believed a sex offender was running a mobile business in southeast Queensland selling ice cream.

Cr Tully has called for Queensland's Blue card system to be extended to include itinerant ice cream vendors.

He said many U.S. state and local legislatures were rushing through laws to ban convicted pedophiles from operating ice cream trucks and other vehicles for the purpose of attracting children.

On June 12, the Governor of Tennessee Phil Bredesen signed a new sex offender bill into law banning convicted pedophiles operating mobile ice cream vans.

Investigators had discovered several sex offenders operating ice cream trucks in the state of Tennessee.

In one case, an ice cream vendor had been arrested three times for rape of a child, sexual exploitation and exposing himself to a person under the age of thirteen.

Under the new Tennessee law, sex offenders are also banned from dressing like or impersonating real or fictional characters for the purpose of preying on children.

Other US states considering bans on sex offenders driving ice cream trucks include California, South Dakota and Massachusetts.

Queensland's Blue Card law has been operating since May 2001.

Cr Tully said innocent children could be attracted to ice cream vans with limited parental supervision.

"The law should be changed immediately to ban convicted pedophiles from operating ice cream vans across Queensland.

"We should not wait until a tragedy occurs.

"Inquisitive young children could easily be attracted into an ice cream truck by a conniving sexual predator.

"At the moment, there are no checks on such drivers or owner operators, giving them free rein to attract young vulnerable children into their vans," Cr Tully said.


RELATED LINKS:

CLICK HERE: Eyewitness News Memphis, Tennessee covering the new ice cream vendor legislation on 12 June 2008.

CLICK HERE: USA TODAY 12 May 2008 - "Push on to inspect ice cream vendors' pasts".


Do you have a contribution about a Queensland consumer issue involving
commercial exploitation, customer ripoffs or unacceptable business practices?
Email Queensland Consumer Watch with full details for the whole world to read.

Check your title deeds - Do you really own your own land?

Spare a thought for Bruce Leslie - one of nature's true gentlemen from Goodna.

Bruce is an internationally-renowned engineer and the the proud owner of the new Goodna Technology Park, employing over 80 staff with plans for expansion. Or, so he thought!

Stage 1 of this brand new high-tech park - located on a 5.9 hectare block of land at Goodna with fabulous Brisbane River frontage - opened this week.

This is the site of the 2006 world-famous experiment between NASA in the United States and mining equipment at Goodna which was operated by remote control from Boston Massachusetts to see if mining could be conducted on the moon via remote radio control.





The 5.9 hectare bock of land at Brisbane Terrace Goodna -
the site of Goodna Technology Park.

The experiment was reported in The Queensland Times:

GOODNA FIRM ENTERS SPACE RACE
October 27, 2006
GABRIELLE WHEATON

NASA is not coming to Ipswich. Why? Because it won't need to thanks to the research of CSIRO and Go 4 Mining at Goodna.

Go 4 Mining owner Bruce Leslie said CSIRO had been using its drag line rig, probably the only one of its kind in the world, to conduct tests of its own.

Reports in the media stated NASA would come to Ipswich to conduct tests on mining equipment for future use on the moon, but Mr Leslie said these plans had been delayed.

Mr Leslie said CSIRO had been conducting research into the automation of mining machines for 10 to 15 years, and were the most advanced in the world. CSIRO senior research scientist Kane Usher said the technology had already been tested on Tuesday, using a NASA researcher working out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

Bruce Leslie feeling like he's been devoured by a
shark after the monumental property transfer stuff-up.

Scientists are trying to establish the world's first fully automatic remote-controlled drag line system, capable of moving huge amounts of dirt when strip mining. "Mining is going to be the same anywhere off-world or here on Earth," Mr Usher said.

Mr Usher said the technology had been remotely tested twice so far through a website, the first time in September, and all the results were reported to NASA.

"It's just an internet page so it can be operated from anywhere, all you need is Firefox, but obviously the machine has to be on and all our software has to be running," he said.

Mr Leslie thought it was good to get exposure because of the agency's involvement and said the technology could save Australia's mining industry up to $100 million a year. Australia has 70 drag lines, about one fifth the number in the western world. Mr Leslie said before Go 4 Mining started designing drag line buckets most equipment came from overseas.

"Since we've been doing the designs for a company in Mackay they've picked up 80% of the market," Mr Leslie said. "Queensland is well advanced in drag line research and our work here is easily the highest quality in the world."

He explained the majority of drag lining was tedious work, but required a lot of skill, which was why operators would always be needed despite the advances in technology.

The automated drag lines would hopefully increase production while also allowing operators a reprieve from the most mundane aspects of the job.

"It's high-level task planning where the operator decides where to dig and dump. It makes operation more efficient and makes it easier for an operator to do a really good job and who knows, it could end up on the moon," Mr Leslie said.

Bruce decided to subdivide his 7.9 hectare block which was processed through two sets of solicitors, the bank and the Titles Office earlier this year.

There was a new 2 hectare block which was intended to be sold off to a company called Ravenshore Pty Ltd with Leslie Consulting Pty Ltd retaining the balance 5.9 hectare parcel of land, where Bruce was constructing his 2-storey office block.

By a sheer fluke, local Councillor Paul Tully was examining the property ownership changes this week which had been received by the Ipswich City Council and noticed that the 5.9 hectare block - which Bruce Leslie thought that he had owned - had actually been transferred to Ravenshore Pty Ltd.

Ravenshore Pty Ltd thought they were buying a vacant block next door to Bruce's property for $2.31 milllion. But legally, they had acquired the adjoining 5.9 hectare property with Brisbane River frontage - plus a fantastic new office block - with an all-up estimated value approaching $10 million.

The vacant block of land next door which was
accidentally transferred to the wrong owner.

Bruce legally ended up with the horse paddock next door when he thought he was the rightful owner of the u-beaut Technology Park development.

But all's well that ends well.

Documents were rushed to the Titles Office and lodged at 2.11pm yesterday to correct the error.

A similar problem occurred in Caswell Street Gailes in the 1950s with half a dozen properties wrongly located on adjoining properties. That debacle took over 30 years to correct.

The new office block at Goodna Technology Park -
the cause of a legal dilemma.

The moral of this story is to personally check and re-check documents being lodged with the Titles Office.

Although it is a rare occurrence, mistakes can occur between vendors, purchasers, solicitors, banks and the Titles Office.

Why don't you check right now that you legally own the property you are living in?

If there is a problem, see a solicitor quickly because under Queensland law, a property sold in good faith to a third party becomes the property of the third party and normally cannot be returned to the true owner.

Do you know of a property transfer stuff-up?
Email Queensland Consumer Watch with full details of the case.

Telstra Chief Sol Trujillo laughs as consumers languish!

According to The Courier-Mail on 8 December 2007, the CEO of Telstra Sol Trujillo now has an obscene pay package of $22 million a year.

It's a pity that his lust for the big money is not reciprocated to consumers with an emphasis on quality service.

Just take this example of Telstra treating customers with total disdain.

Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo

thinking of ways to increase
his $22 million annual salary
package.

Last Tuesday 3 June 2008, my home phone / internet line went as dead as a door nail and was promptly reported to Telstra with a guarantee it would be fixed by 7pm Tuesday 10 June 2008.

This was despite advice today from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman that this time frame exceeded the customer guarantee for fixing landline faults, which Telstra is obliged to follow.

I was assured that if a technician attended my home and we were not there, they would leave a calling card with a contact number.

On Friday, I called Telstra on an unrelated matter and was told that no technician had yet been assigned to my job - 3 days after the initial complaint.

Today, a check with Telstra in Ipswich revealed that a technician did come out on Saturday but had failed to leave a calling card.

The problem was supposedly a line fault in the second pit from my home which allegedly had concrete over the top of the pit.

Today, I personally inspected all of the pits from my home for a distance of 250 metres. Lo and behold, there was no sign of any concrete impeding access to any pit over that distance.

Sol Trujillo holds up 10 fingers -
one for each of the almost
$100,000 he earns each
weekday as head of Telstra.

A call to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) gave me a reference number and a contact number with Telstra who blithely told me that they had 10 days to respond positively to a TIO complaint but that they would pass my complaint onto a case officer.

I suppose I should be really grateful for that.

So, Telstra now has 17 days to fix this line problem!

You make a complaint to the TIO which automatically gives Telstra extra time to finalise the matter - a pretty, bloody stupid system.

The TIO stated that Telstra will be liable for breaching their Customer Service Guarantee with a daily penalty of $14.52 for 5 days (after either 1 or 3 days, depending upon my location) plus $48.40 a day thereafter.

Frankly, I cannot give a hoot about this compensation.

As a loyal customer of Telstra for 34 years, I expect nothing more and nothing less than a prompt response to my complaint with the line being fixed as a matter of priority.

And a note left in my letterbox as promised, rather than hanging around like a dill waiting for Telstra to arrive.

In the good old days in the 60s, you could speak directly with a technician at the local exchange and get prompt replies and service.

Now, while Sol Trujillo counts his weekly salary of $423,000, all I want is my bloody phone connection restored!

Is this Sol Trujillo
counting his $1.83 million
monthly pay packet.

Sol - is that too much to ask? Sol, Sol - are you listening? Sol, Sol - what's that noise? Actually, it sounds like bank notes being counted with ecstatic laughter every few seconds!

Sol, Sol - I know you are busy but could you please spend just a few minutes to help one of your loyal customers.

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
Have you had a problem with Telstra?
Has Telstra failed to give you proper service within a reasonable time frame?

Has Telstra treated you as a nuisance rather than a customer?
Email Queensland Consumer Watch with full details.