Unconscionable and fraudulent Australian four-wheel-drive rental firm fined $1 2 million drive.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from drive.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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An Australian four-wheel-drive vehicle hire business has been ordered to pay fines totalling $1.223 million, after the Federal Court found it had serially breached consumer law and behaved deceptively.
Smart Corporation Pty Ltd – which previously traded as Australian 4WD Hire – consistently engaged in “unconscionable conduct, made false and misleading representations in relation to insurance cover, and included unfair contract terms in its vehicle rental contracts,” according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The company has since gone into liquidation, but remains liable for fines totalling $870,000.
The Court found that the company s terms were woefully unfair because – among other indiscretions – they permitted deposit deductions for trivial breaches which could not have caused any loss or damage to the hired vehicle. Prosecutors also allege the former directors engaged in bullying practices and threatened customers who compl