- Aussie Sheds Albany owner found guilty of breaching ACL
- $158,853 worth of deposits paid for incomplete shed and patio works
- 11 consumers to receive full compensation
An Albany shed seller who took large deposits from consumers between January 2020 and 25 July 2020 and failed to deliver goods and services in a reasonable timeframe has been found guilty of breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
Armand Javellana of Albany, trading as Aussie Sheds Albany was convicted on 9 June 2023 and ordered to pay compensation totalling $158,853 to consumers who paid deposits with little or no work completed. He was also ordered to pay costs of $661.30.
Consumer Protection first warned the public in August 2020 about Mr Javellana’s business practices after receiving 50 complaints from consumers and recommended that consumers avoid dealing with the business, or provide further progress payments until work had been completed.
Mr Javellana became bankrupt shortly after the public warning was issued in 2020 and in February 2023, Mr Javellana was convicted of not being a registered building contractor, contrary to the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 and for entering into home building contracts requiring deposits of almost 10 times the legal maximum of 6.5 per cent of the contract value before work began, contrary to the Home Building Contracts Act 1991.
11 consumers paid large deposits for sheds, with one consumer paying a large deposit for a patio roof. The majority of the shed or patio works were to be completed on properties in the South West, with two sheds purchased by consumers in New South Wales and Queensland.
Magistrate Crawford was not satisfied that Mr Javellana had the capacity to pay a fine and also pay the victims back their deposits, so the decision was made to award compensation to the consumers. Her Honour also imposed a conditional release order of $1,000 on each of the 12 charges for a period of 12 months. If Mr Javellana reoffends in WA or elsewhere, he can be bought back to Court and resentenced in the sum of $1,000 per charge.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake said this conviction was a great result for the consumers who were left out of pocket for a significantly long time.
“We were very concerned when complaints against Mr Javellana started mounting in 2020 and alarmed at the significant amount of money consumers had paid for incomplete sheds,” Ms Blake said.
“While Mr Javellana wasn’t fined in this instance, he has been forced to pay deposits back and was fined $10,000 earlier this year following prosecution by Building and Energy for entering into contracts without the required building registration and taking excessive deposits up to 10 times the allowable value of 6.5 per cent before work commenced.
“We hope both convictions will deter Mr Javellana and others from conducting illegal activities in future.
“Consumers should only pay small deposits where possible to reduce their risk, and for bigger jobs, only make progress payments once stages of the work have been completed.
“In the case of one of the consumers in this case, they were able to seek a chargeback for their deposit from their bank so it is highly recommended to pay by credit card which offers extra protection to consumers if goods and services are not provided.”
Consumers who have paid money for goods and services such as shed installations but have yet to have the work completed in a reasonable timeframe, are urged to lodge an online complaint on the Consumer Protection website or contact us by email consumer@demirs.wa.gov.au or by calling 1300 30 40 54.
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Media Contact: Jasmine Sidhu, (08) 6552 9248 / 0429 078 791 / cpmedia@demirs.wa.gov.au