DIRTY BASTARDS! !!!!! Clothes bin firm to pay $100,000 after court Posted on 28 March 2014. Tags: Business STAFF REPORTER The operator of a network of clothing collection bins in Perth who accepted he may have misled the public has now agreed to make a $100,000 donation to charity and issue a public apology. E’Co Australia Pty Ltd and its head honcho Mark Brian Keay have settled Supreme Court legal action taken by the Commissioner for Consumer Protection by signing an enforceable undertaking. The undertaking involves paying $100,000 in monthly instalments over 18 months, with the funds being donated to charities at the discretion of the commissioner. The company has also agreed to publish a prominent newspaper advertisement apologising for any potentially deceptive conduct. Between January and November 2011, E’Co had 300 clothing collection bins at 205 prominent locations around metropolitan Perth which displayed text and images that may have given the impression that the clothing donations would ultimately be given to poor children in Africa, and that the operator was itself a charity or not-for-profit organisation. In many cases, the E’Co Kids bins were alongside the collection bins of genuine registered charities. In reality, E’Co Australia was not a charity or not-for-profit organisation, but a commercial enterprise which sold the clothing to second-hand merchants in Africa for a profit and retained the proceeds. The company and Mr Keay have admitted that the conduct may have breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false and misleading representations. In November 2011 E’Co agreed to place stickers on its bins stating that items deposited may be sold for profit. The conduct subject to the Supreme Court action related only to the period before the company agreed to place the clarification for users. Today, consumer protection commissioner Anne Driscoll said it was imperative that the public be given true and accurate information. “Whether the donations are in the form of money or clothing, the public has the right to know whether the collection bin is part of a business or a charity,” ms Driscoll said. “Donors need to have confidence that their donations are benefiting the people or purpose that they believe are being supported. “Anyone engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct to take advantage of the generosity and goodwill of the community for commercial gain, will risk legal action and potential damage to their reputations.”
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 11:26:15 +0000
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