It is important to recall that safety is essential and in this 12th episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the two Joels work their way through the 2022 case of ACCC v Mercedes-Benz. Following several incidents of serious injuries and deaths, in 2018 a mandatory recall commenced in connection with Takata manufactured airbags. Airbags had been installed in approximately 3 million vehicles in Australia (and more than 100 million globally). In certain instances, on deployment, the airbags would cause metal and plastic shrapnel to explode out of the airbag. The recall applied to two types o ..read more

On February 8, Keeping Up with the Consumer Law went live and in person at The Suburban Brew in Adelaide. In this recording of that event, join regular hosts Joel Grieger and Joel Lisk as they tackle the big consumer law issues with three expert guests; Alexandra Douvartzidis, Katherine Temple and Dr Mark Giancaspro. About Our Expert Guests Alexandra Douvartzidis. Alexandra is a Senior Associate in the Civil and Commercial Litigation team at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (HWLE) in Adelaide. Alexandra predominately practises in the areas of: civil, competition and consumer law, regulatory and gover ..read more

Luxury awaits as we cruise on through Episode 10 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. In this episode the Joels explore the case of Moore v Scenic Tours Pty Ltd and how the consumer guarantees can apply to services like holidays. In 2013, due to heavy and damaging rain in Europe many luxury river cruises were significantly impacted due to the rivers in which they travel breaking their banks or simply being too high to allow the cruise ships to pass under bridges. Scenic Tours Pty Ltd was one of the cruise providers impacted by the weather. The river conditions seriously impacted on the experie ..read more

Have you missed the Joels ramble on about consumer law? Well don’t we have a massive end of year surprise for you: the Keeping Up with the Consumer Law Extravaganza! In this episode Joel Grieger and Joel Lisk try to run through some of the major consumer law news that has happened since the last episode of the 2023 season from August. So, what do the Joels cover? Well, in 23 minutes they cover the ACCC’s action against Qantas for alleged ghost flights, changes to unfair contract term laws, an action against a Jeep distributor for poor consumer compliant management, and a massive penalty for a ..read more

Welcome to episode 15 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the last episode of Season 1. In this episode we are joined by Nick Heys, Executive Director of Coordination and Strategy at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to talk through a range of topics from how the ACCC select the matters they pursue, greenwashing and influencers. This is the fifteenth episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law. Keeping Up with the Consumer Law is financially supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia. Want to follow up on a couple of the topics covered in this episode?  ACCC’s 2 ..read more

In this episode, the Joels have a chat about caravans – or, caravans with lots of problems - when they hitch their cars up to the case that is ACCC v Jayco. (Lisk might struggle, Mazda 2’s aren’t great for towing) In 2017, the ACCC commenced an action against Australian’s caravan manufacturer Jayco Corporation Pty Ltd (Jayco) alleging that they had engaged in unconscionable conduct by obstructing them from obtaining certain remedies under the Australian Consumer Law associated with allegedly defective goods (being the caravans), as well as misleading or deceptive conduct. The ACCC was ultimate ..read more

If life is like a box of chocolates, then wealth is like a pyramid. Pyramids have played an important part in the history of human kind – the Great Pyramids of Giza, the 5 food groups, the illuminati. But some aren’t so joyfully received and are even banned by the Australian Consumer Law.    In this episode of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, Grieger tries to walk us through one of the more interesting components of the Australian Consumer Law; the prohibition of pyramid schemes. Grieger introduces the ill-fated TVI Express scheme, a scheme the ACCC described as a scam. We aren’t go ..read more

In this episode, the Joels wade into the realm of the consumer guarantees and gaming, examining the facts behind the landmark case of ACCC v Valve Corporation that confirmed the extension of consumer guarantee rights (and the broader Australian Consumer Law) to businesses overseas operating into Australia. In 2014, the ACCC commenced proceedings against Valve Corporation – the United States based company that operates the ‘Steam’ gaming platform – alleging that they had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by misrepresenting to consumers that were not entitled to remedies provided by the ..read more

The Australian Consumer Law can be useful for a range of circumstances, even extremely personal ones. In Episode 13 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, Grieger walks us through the sensitive case of ACCC v AMI.   Following one of the most prominent and memorable advertising campaigns of the 2000s, characterised by the line “Want Longer Lasting Sex?”, the ACCC commenced proceedings against Advanced Medical Institute (AMI) and related entities alleging a raft of contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law including unconscionable conduct. In this episode, we explore how this case di ..read more

Sometimes outsourcing is a good thing. In Episode 11 of Keeping Up with the Consumer Law, the Joels try to answer your questions by speaking to consumer law experts. Massive thank you to our experts for their time and finding answers to the burning questions. Our experts were: Will Mellor, Barrister at Nexus Chambers Anna Lacey, Associate Director at Cowell Clarke  Dr Mark Giancaspro, Senior Lecturer at the Adelaide Law School No part of this episode constitutes legal advice, if these questions and answers touch on any legal concerns you might have, head over to www.consumerlaw.media/le ..read more