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Carbon price claims

Carbon price claims: your consumer rights

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) says businesses cannot make false, misleading or deceptive claims about the price of goods or services. This applies to claims about the impact of the carbon price on the cost of goods and services.

You have a right:

not to be misled by a business about the impact of the carbon price.
to complain to the ACCC if you think you have been misled.
to shop around.

For further information about the carbon price and your rights, see ACCC Consumers and carbon price claims.

Example: Consumer rights and ACCC action

A customer sees a sign at the counter of a local shop that states:

‘Due to the introduction of the carbon price, we have been forced to increase our prices by 15%.’

The customer visits other shops in the area selling similar goods and notices that their prices have not changed. The customer is concerned about the claim made at his local shop and contacts the ACCC Infocentre to make a complaint.

The ACCC investigates the claim and finds that the price increase is due to a number of factors, only one of which is the carbon price.

As a result, the ACCC considers that the claim made by the shop is misleading because it overstates the impact of a carbon price on its business.

For more examples, see the ACCC Carbon price claims: Guide for business [Updated May 2012].

Watch out for scams

Be cautious about phone calls or emails:

offering to pay carbon price compensation into your bank account.
claiming you need to pay or transfer money to receive a compensation payment or tax refund.
asking survey questions about carbon.

These may be scams. Information about how to protect yourself from carbon price scams is available at www.scamwatch.gov.au.

For further information about the carbon price and your rights, see ACCC Consumers and the carbon price.

If you think you have been misled, contact the ACCC

The ACCC may investigate and take action against businesses that make false, misleading or deceptive claims about the impact of the carbon price.

If you see a claim that does not seem right and have an enquiry or complaint, contact the ACCC:

Use the Carbon Price Claims Webform (opens in a new window)
Call the ACCC Carbon Price Claims Hotline on 1300 303 609

The ACCC Consumers and carbon price claims guide will help you understand your consumer rights. This guide provides information about the types of claims you might hear, how you can take action to protect your rights and how to make a complaint.

The ACCC Consumers and carbon price claims guide - HTML version

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