Issue Date:  -  Thursday, 30 October 2003

Phone 1-902 rip off

Consumers should think twice before responding to faxed letters with 1902 response numbers, advises the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.

A company based in NSW has recently been faxing WA consumers with ‘up to date lists’ of Government and Police Disposal sales and ‘get paid to shop’ offers.

Interested consumers are encouraged to ‘fax back’ a 1902 number from their fax machine.

Consumers are charged $5.50 per minute and the fax retrieval systems can often be slow.

Depending on the speed of their fax machine and the number of pages in the ‘list’, consumers may pay up to $50.

“We are concerned about the expense and value of the lists being offered”, Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said.

“The lists offer generic and in some cases, outdated information.

“For example a website for WA Government and Police Disposal Sales contained in one of the listings, lists February to June 2003 auction dates.

In many cases consumers can freely access the information via newspaper advertisements, websites or by making a local phone call to the relevant organisation.

“We advise consumers to ask themselves ‘can I get this information elsewhere, for less?’ before responding.”

1902 fax retrieval systems that charge per minute are not illegal in Australia provided they comply with the Communications Regulations by stating their name and cost per minute. Suspicious faxes can be reported by calling Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54.

Bronwyn Frazer
A/ Principal Media Liaison Officer
Consumer Protection
Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, WA
P: 08 9282 3961
M: 0403 866 742