Wrongly assembled brakes, missing chain guards, bells or other warning devices are just some of the faults found on bicycles by an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission pre-Christmas survey in Adelaide.
'Some of the faults had the potential to cause serious injury to the riders,' Acting ACCC Chairman, Mr Allan Asher, said today. 'Bikes with particularly high risks were those imported in kit form from overseas.
'In those cases, some retailers or importers were negligent in following assembly instructions, casual staff may have been unfamiliar with the bikes, or the assembly instructions were incomplete. The bicycles were offered for sale even though they failed to comply with mandatory safety standards under the Trade Practices Act 1974.
'Examples of problems detected included the wrong assembly of brakes (including attachments to the wrong wheels), missing chain guards, missing bells or other warning devices, and missing labels stating the name and address of manufacturer, assembler or Australian distributor.
'The shops involved were a mix right across the retailing spectrum,' he said. 'And I'm pleased to say that once the problems were identified the retailers immediately took action to rectify the mistakes. However, new riders may not be aware of the potential problems caused by incorrectly assembled bicycles.
'The ACCC affords a high priority to its product safety and information standards responsibilities. As part of its compliance and enforcement work, it undertakes regular surveys of products for which there are mandatory standards. The concerns revealed by this survey will also be sent to relevant consumer agencies in each State for their consideration.'
All suppliers, whether at the wholesale or retail level, must ensure that their goods and services meet relevant Australian Standards. Penalties for breaches of product safety and product information provisions of the Act are the same as for unfair business practices. Monetary penalties of up to $200 000 for companies and $40 000 for individuals can apply. In addition, the product liability provisions of the Act apply to all consumer goods (including those covered by mandatory standards). Any manufacturer or importer which supplies a defective product places itself at risk of action should the product cause injury to anyone in the course of its use. The standard is available from Standards Australia and the ACCC has a 'Do You Supply' information sheet on bicycles available at every office in each capital city, Townsville and Tamworth.
