The Western Australian government has issued a stern warning to the state’s solar industry over potentially misleading promotions and “false claims” about the soon-to-launch residential battery rebate and no-interest loan scheme.
Western Australia’s Consumer Protection announced last week that it had “put the solar industry on notice”, with letters sent to around 1,300 solar system retailers, promoters, and installers to remind them “of their Australian Consumer Law (ACL) obligations.”
Specifically, Consumer Protection wrote to ensure that promotions “are consistent with official government information and do not mislead consumers” on the soon-to-launch WA Residential Battery Scheme.
“Of particular concern were reports of a trader unlawfully using the state government logo and falsely claiming that registrations were open, subsequently using questionnaires to gather personal information.”
It was announced at the beginning of June that Western Australia’s Residential Battery Scheme would complement the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program for a combined rebate of up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and $7,500 for Horizon Power customers.
This was a blow to some who had hoped that the original WA rebate scheme – which had promised home battery rebates of up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and up to $7,500 for Horizon Power customers – would be stacked on top of the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, bringing total discounts up to $9,000 and...
it made false statements on customs forms to avoid paying tariffs on some imports from China, rejecting the company's argument that the Tariff Act leaves no room to invoke the False Claims Act. . ....