THE NEW SOUTH Wales Government in eastern Australia are warning the public about “Irish conmen” who they say are approaching residents with false qualifications and offering to carry out repair work for them.
NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe told the public “not to deal with” certain individuals and have begun releasing details on their website of business names and workmen to avoid.
This map on the Stop Travelling Conmen website monitors the frequency of incidents by state so far this year.
Two Irishmen, newly-arrived in Australia, are set to appear in court after they allegedly contracted to do the work without an appropriate home building licence.
On 15 January, a call was received by the Travelling Conmen Hotline reporting that two Irish men allegedly approached a resident in Castle Hill offering a “good deal” to pressure clean and reseal his driveway.
The men told the resident they had leftover driveway sealant they had to use, NSW Fair Trading said. It is alleged that the men falsely claimed to have approvals from Fair Trading for their work and materials but that this is not the case.
One of the pair is also allegedly in breach of the Australian Consumer Law for negotiating an unsolicited consumer agreement without providing proper paperwork and accepting payment within the 10 day cooling off period.
The men were driving a Victoria-registered white rental van displaying the business name ‘Vipertec Pressure Cleaning’.
The work they were touting for and undertook requires a home building licence for jobs valued at more then €760.
One of the men has been issued with six court notices in relation to work at two properties for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law and the NSW Home Building Act. The other was issued with one notice under the Home Building Act in relation to work at one property.
The men are due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on 8 February 2013.
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