Since the introduction of the Carbon Price on July 1 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has received over 630 complaints and enquiries about the carbon price.
Whilst the number of complaints is not trivial, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims noted that ‘the number of carbon related complaints and enquiries received so far is not a large proportion of complaints to the ACCC, given that we received over 8350 general complaints in that period’.
The biggest category of complaints has been claims made by energy retailers regarding the effect of the carbon price on increases in electricity bills. After the energy sector, the largest number of complaints have been about landfill, building and construction, and refrigerant gases.
In May the ACCC released its updated Carbon Price Claims Guide in which it provided advice to businesses to ensure that they continue to follow current regulations regarding pricing claims.
All claims made by businesses must be truthful and have a reasonable basis on which they are made.
The ACCC has urged consumers to ‘shop around, think twice and ask questions about these claims’.