Qld: Ministers to discuss shared consumer complaints system

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2009
Qld: Ministers to discuss shared consumer complaints system

By Paul Osborne

BRISBANE, April 24 AAP - Australia's fair trading ministers will discuss a scheme to
share consumer complaints information in the wake of the Kleenmaid group collapse.

The Queensland-based appliance retailer went into administration on April 9. Creditors
owed $76 million are expected to vote to liquidate the group of 14 companies next month.

Queensland Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor said it was possible a trend could have
been detected if consumer information was shared nationally.

But Mr Lawlor, who was briefed on the Kleenmaid case by administrator Deloitte this
week, said Queensland authorities had only received 11 complaints against the company
in the past 18 months.

Nine complaints were rectified by the company after being followed up by fair trading
officers, but two are outstanding, coming just before Kleenmaid went into administration.

Mr Lawlor said while such a low rate of complaints would not have triggered a red light
for authorities, he understood there were many more complaints interstate.

"I'll be meeting with my counterparts in Hobart in May," Mr Lawlor said.

"There's a good argument for a central register for consumer complaints or a protocol
to share information and alert others that there is a problem with a company."

Mr Lawlor said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) should throw
the book at Kleenmaid's directors if the administrators found the group had been trading
while insolvent.

"If there's any evidence that this company was trading insolvently then the directors
should feel the full force of the law and I'll be encouraging ASIC to bring charges against
those directors," he said.

He said it was "mind-boggling" that the company was using about $27 million in customer
deposits as working capital.

Mr Lawlor said his own department had no power to investigate or get money back for consumers.

Administrator John Greig said in a statement on Friday that a meeting of creditors
in May would discuss liquidation.

But Mr Greig said he did not foresee any return to unsecured creditors, including customers
who had paid for goods but not received them.

He said his full findings would be provided in a report to creditors before the next meeting.

But at this stage it appeared secured creditors such as Westpac were owed $28 million,
customers $27 million, trade creditors and suppliers $16 million, landlords and warehouse
operators $2 million and employees $3 million.

AAP pjo/tnf

KEYWORD: KLEENMAID

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.