Victoria sloppy on refunds

MELBOURNE: It might be known as Australia's leading fashion state but as far as refund policies go, Victorian clothing shops have been found to be the worst in the nation. An audit conducted across 349 stores throughout Australia last month found only 58 per cent of small to medium enterprises in Victoria complied with fair trading laws on refunds.

The audit, conducted by national consumer affairs offices, cited New South Wales as the best state with a compliance rate of 85 per cent. Queensland also scored high at 82 per cent while South Australia clocked in at just 62.5 per cent, ACT at 65 per cent, Western Australian at 67 per cent and Tasmania at 75 per cent.

Auditors found many retailers were guilty of illegal refund statements, including those which stated no refunds were given or no refunds were allowed for hygiene reasons.

South Australian Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said warning letters had been sent to non-compliant stores and in South Australia, the Office of Consumer and Business affairs would seek to prosecute repeat offenders.

By law, consumers are entitled to a refund if items are faulty, wrongly described, different from samples shown or do not function as advertised.