In spite of hysterical claims from other groups, the Australian Senate Committee on Pet the Food industry is so mild as to be only barely useful. Business planning will be affected as proposed regulation has given way to a series of Recommendations designed to use current consumer law to manage complaints, and implement a “watch and act” regime – surrounded by lots of “important sounding” words.

The recommendations HAVE NOT yet been adopted by the government, so in the end, nothing may happen at all!

In Summary, the Recommendations are:

1. Post the “Standard for the Manufacture and Marketing of Pet Food” on a government website.
2. • A. Form a Working Group to consider making FSANZ (Australian Food Standards group) include Pet Food
   • B. Draft a pet food safety policy framework for consideration by a Ministerial group
3. The proposed Working Group review the Australian Standard in (1) above
4. ACCC should make the Standard in (1) above mandatory
5. AVA should improve its reporting system under PetFAST, with ACCC.
6. ACCC should have a section on its website to help consumers report pet food problems
7. States and territories should have consumer education programs and have an investigation system.

In essence, the report largely maintains the “status quo” but has better reporting mechanisms. Much will depend on WHO is appointed to the Working Group.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO MY BUSINESS?

a) If you are manufacturing pet food and treats, aim to maintain the highest standards of quality and complaints investigation. Pets Australia can help with the latter.

b) LEARN about how pet food is regulated and your consumer rights. If it doesn’t say “COMPLETE FEED” or “MEETS AAFCO STANDARDS” don’t feed it to your pet. If you have a problem with a pet
food or treat, REPORT IT.

c) EDUCATE your clients. Use the client handout we have prepared for you. HERE

Members are reporting false “bad reviews” on Google from people who are not clients and in one case a proven competitor business.  Pets Australia is acting for a member in one case.

BE WARNED! The ACCC acts on business competitors attacking other businesses in social media.

If you (misleadingly) ask friends or relatives to post positive reviews of your business online, you can be fined up to $10MILLION dollars. Positive reviews must be from real clients.  SEE HERE

If you (misleadingly) offer financial incentives (including discounts) or don’t declare that you are being paid to positively review a business, you can be fined up to $10MILLION dollars. Positive reviews must be real and either unsolicited or declared.

If you are aware of fake “positive” reviews on any of your sites, you may also be fined if ou do not remove these within 24 hours.

If you write a review (good or bad) when you have not bought the product or service (ie not your genuinely held opinion), you can be fined up to $10MILLION dollars. Positive reviews must be from real clients.

If you ask your friends to write bad reviews about a competitor and they have not bought the goods or services, YOU can be fined up to $10 MILLION. Do you seriously think that your friends won’t “dob you in” with the ACCC in their face threatening them personally with a $250,000 fine?

If you are sure that a bad review is fake, but you can’t take it down (Google doesn’t do this) here is some great advice on how to respond to both the complainant and Google READ MORE

Don’t be associated with illegal activity. Outcompete them on quality and price. There is a strong association between staying focused on YOUR business and not being diverted by the business of others.

As pet business are increasingly targeted by lawsuits, ACCC is weighing in on small businesses who don’t follow Consumer Law

Computer sales business MSY Technology has just been fined $750,000 after misleading customers about whether they were entitled to a repair, refund or replacement after purchasing a faulty product.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said that businesses must ensure their refund and returns policies, and any representations (written or verbal) reflect their consumer law obligation to provide refund, repair or replacement in cases where there is a major fault with the product. This can include owners alleging problems with pets they have bought (the pet being “the product”), or claims against policies for boarding, grooming, sitting, walking, training and minding (the service being “the product”.

Pets Australia suggests pet business owners designate a single contact person for dealing with all complaints, and make sure staff are trained in what to do if a customer requests an exchange or refund. There is a clear association between well trained staff and good outcomes.

And a warning for retail members: if a product is under warranty and has a fault, the store that sold it is responsible for sending it away for repair or replacement, but many businesses do not do this. If you’ve sold the product, it’s your responsibility to send it back to the supplier. That may include livestock.

Pets Australia can help members in these cases. In the last 12 months Pets Australia staff have helped with 14 cases where a client has commenced legal action after alleging a pet was “unfit for purpose” or where a client has alleged that a policy was misleading. If you have concerns, contact the office!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

[thanks to Smartcompany for the theme behind this note]