The ACCC have had another win in their fight against unfair contract terms. The Federal Court on Friday, declared by consent that certain contract terms of Servcorp were unfair to small business.
This is a relatively new legislative power, and it pays for you to be fully aware of what your rights and obligations are and to seek expert advice ASAP.
Servcorp have been ordered into a compliance program and ordered to pay the ACCC’s costs, up to $150,000. Ouch!
What were the offending terms:
(1) an automatic renewal clause, requiring the customer to opt-out;
(2) a unilateral termination clause, meaning Servcorp could terminate the contract at their sole discretion;
(3) unreasonable liability limitation clauses; and
(4) a clause permitting Servcorp to keep a customer’s security deposit if they failed to request it back.
Do you know if your contracts have any of these kind of terms?
Case link http://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2018/2018fca1044.
