Federal Court finds Vic Solar in Dandenong South used aggressive sales tactics

A Dandenong South solar business has breached consumer law for using “dodgy” and “aggressive” sales tactics, a court has found.

The Federal Court has found a Dandenong South solar company used aggressive sales tactics and misled consumers.

The Federal Court has found a Dandenong South solar company used aggressive sales tactics and misled consumers.

In a Federal Court hearing on Friday, January 29 between Consumer Affairs Victoria and Vic Solar, it was found the company and its director Sunny Srinivasan, 31, breached Australian Consumer Law by making misleading representations to consumers, and failing to comply with legal protections for unsolicited consumer agreements.

The court also found the overall Vic Solar business model was “unconscionable conduct”.

In other findings, Vic Solar used third-party lead generators to knock on homeowners’ doors, advertised a false “community bulk-buy” of solar PV systems and used the details of those who registered interest to engage in door-to-door sales that breached unsolicited consumer agreement laws.

Examples included failing to let consumers know about their cooling-off rights and not respecting the cooling-off period before starting installations.

The court also found the conduct of third party salespeople as lead generators in this case should be attributed to Vic Solar.

Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the outcome served as a stern warning to all sellers that aggressive tactics and misleading consumers would not be tolerated.

“Businesses cannot avoid responsibility for dodgy sales practices by using lead generators”, Ms Rich said.

Consumer Affairs urges consumers to keep an eye out for aggressive sales techniques including offering goods or services with significantly discounted prices, failing to provide information about cooling-off rights and not providing a written copy of the sales agreement as soon as it has been signed.

Vic Solar and its director Sunny Srinivasan could not be reached for comment.