Conciliating disputes between consumers and traders

Consumer Protection assist consumers and traders to resolve disputes about contracts, warranties and the quality of vehicles or repairs to vehicles by providing advice and, where necessary, negotiating using a process called conciliation.

Our conciliation process avoids an overly legalistic approach. It is an informal style of dispute resolution which does not necessarily involve formal meetings. The emphasis is on early resolution by negotiating a mutually acceptable settlement.

Conciliation can sometimes provide a result in a matter of days, but more often may take a few weeks. The time taken to reach an outcome depends on the complexity of the issue, the willingness of the trader to cooperate or other issues. We will attempt to resolve your issue as quickly as possible.

If the trader has failed to meet their obligations under the relevant laws, we will try to ensure that you receive proper redress. However, Consumer Protection cannot order traders to follow a particular course of action or put them out of business. These are decisions for the courts.

If conciliation fails, or doesn't satisfy your demands you can choose to take the matter to a court, such as the Magistrates Court. Taking your matter to court is not necessarily expensive or time-consuming.