Get help with a consumer issue

Access Canberra can help if you have an issue with a product or service you bought.

When we can help you

We can help you if:

• you live in the ACT, regardless of where the business is in Australia
• you do not live in the ACT but have a dispute with an agent, motor vehicle dealer or motor vehicle repairer in the ACT.

What we do

We can:

• provide consumer advice
• help resolve your dispute with a business
• provide other options to help resolve your dispute.

We cannot:

• provide legal advice
• provide compensation
• order a business to compensate you or rectify a problem - only a court or tribunal can do this.

Try to resolve the issue yourself first

Before you contact us, you must contact the business. Often an issue can be resolved by a conversation over the phone or in person.

Before you contact the business, it can be helpful to learn about your consumer rights when you buy a product or service on the ACCC website.

Follow these steps:

1. Contact the business as soon as you notice the issue and clearly explain:
   • what the problem is
   • what outcome you want
   • when you want the outcome by.
2. Collect information and evidence about your complaint, including:
   • your notes explaining the issue
   • correspondence including the names and dates of people you contacted
   • receipts
   • contracts
   • invoices.
3. If you can’t resolve the issue through a conversation, write to the business.

   Make sure you’re factual and concise and ask for a written response.

   You can use the ACCC’s Complaint letter tool.

4. Once the business replies consider whether you’re content and the issue is resolved. If you do not receive a reply or you’re still not satisfied, you can contact us.

Report an issue

If you’ve been unable to resolve the issue yourself, you can report it to us.

You'll need to provide proof that you’ve written to the business to try to resolve the issue before we can help.

When reporting an issue please provide as much information as possible.

This helps us to:

• review your report
• decide what needs to happen next
• monitor trends
• plan how to target issues
• promote compliance.

What to include

You'll need to give us:

• the name and contact details of the business you're reporting
• information about the dispute including dates, costs and payment details
• supporting evidence such as receipts, contracts and correspondence.

Report an issue

What happens next

We’ll review the information you provide us and determine if we can help.

If we can’t help, we’ll contact you with options to help you resolve your dispute.

We’ll reply to your complaint within two business days and provide you with an initial response within 10 business days.

You can find out more about our processes in our accountability commitment policies.