WA Interstate Car Purchase - Sue Non-Responsive Car Dealer in WA?

[Jake1984]

I purchased a car from a (large) car dealer group in Victoria in March. The sales contract stipulated a few items to be included with the purchase($900ish value). These items were not provided, and after 2 weeks of emails with them promising to provide, they are now ignoring all phone calls/emails. It's a pretty clear and unambiguous breach, I assume they're just hoping I don't pursue it?

I want to sue them for breach of contract, ideally via a minor case claim in the Magistrates Court of WA (as opposed to a VCAT claim as I live in WA). However I am unsure of whether I can do this. The sales contract does not contain a clause to specify which jurisdiction it is governed by.

Assuming I have to sue them in the VCAT, do I have an option to request the hearing be moved to WA, or alternatively what would the chances be of claiming the airfare required to attend a VCAT hearing (I know costs generally aren't claimable). Is there any option to attend the hearing by teleconference, or to have it decided on the papers?

 

[Ivy]

Hi Jake,

The Australian Consumer Law governs this breach of your contract of sale. The relevant state departments help to manage and enforce the laws and I'm pretty sure that you should be able to bring a claim in a WA court even though you purchased in Vic.

However your first step should be to call Consumer Protection (WA Dept of Commerce) and speak to them before lodging your claim. They will be able to tell you more about enforcing the ACL across state borders. Consumer rights | Department of Commerce