Aveling Homes – Fined by ACCC for Fraudulent Fake Reviews

Aveling Homes has been exposed as a fraudulent company which relies on lies and deceitful marketing to gain customers.

They were paying websites to add fake reviews on their listings so they would seem like a legitimate company.

It is one of the many fraudulent firms which post fake reviews to bolster their image because they don’t have proper customer service. Many firms which engage in such behavior tend to have a lot of disgruntled clients as well.

The following Aveling Homes review explores their fake claims as well as their deceitful marketing practices:

Exploring Their Shady Claims:

It is a residential building company that has operated in Western Australia since 2009. During the relevant period, Aveling Homes operated two home-building businesses, Aveling Homes and First Home Owners Centre.

Aveling Homes operated an official website and a review website for each business. Aveling Homes is a home builder in Perth dedicated to providing customers with quality homes and the highest levels of customer service. Understanding that few decisions are as important as buying a home whether you are a first-time home buyer or a property investor, they have a group of experienced professionals who work closely with you from the initial consultation to the final construction of your new home. Focused primarily on delivering exceptional value for customers’ money without compromising on quality at any stage. 

Michael Aveling – Michael Aveling is a Cheif Executive Officer of Aveling Homes. He started Aveling Homes in 2009 in partnership with Zorzi builders, who have been awarded the most luxurious home-building companies in Australia. Before starting his career with Zorzi builders, Michael spent over 20 years building homes for first and second-home buyers through Perth.

A word by Michael Aveling “ Whether you’re building your first home, upgrading to a larger single-story residence or moving up to two stories, your journey with Aveling Homes will be one that is centered around quality – because we believe everyone is entitled to quality regardless of where they’re at in life.”

Aveling Homes Reviews – Claims Made by the Company

Aveling Homes focus heavily on customer reviews as they have a separate column and a portal dedicated mainly to customer reviews.

Aveling Homes Fined by the ACCC for Their Deceptive Marketing

A Perth-based home building company that allegedly created misleading review websites for their products is being taken to court by the consumer watchdog, but the company has denied any wrongdoing.

Aveling Homes is being sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the Federal Court for engaging in deceptive business practices.

The building company, which has its headquarters in the Perth suburb of Stirling, is accused of creating websites that gave the appearance that they were associated with an unbiased third-party review agency.

Some of the key points: 

• Aveling Homes’ websites allegedly made to look like companies had overwhelmingly positive reviews.
• ACCC alleges sites were run and filtered by the company, and not independent
• Aveling could face fines of more than $1 million if guilty of deceptive conduct

Words of an ACCC spokesman “ It would be alleged the company filtered out all unfavorable or negative reviews on the website.”

“He further mentions that Aveling created review websites that represented they were independent of Aveling and that the appearance, layout, and features gave consumers the overall impression that they were affiliated with an independent, third-party consumer review website when this was not the case,”.

Words of ACC’s Deputy Chair Michael Schaper “the potential for harm from the alleged conduct by the company was significant. Buying or building a home is one of the biggest purchasing decisions for Australians,”.

He further added, “ Online reviews are increasingly being relied on by consumers and they should be able to trust that those reviews are independent, unbiased, and accurately reflect the range of consumer feedback received.”

Words by Sean Quartermaine, the company’s sales and marketing manager issued a statement in which he and the organization vehemently denied any wrongdoing and vowed to vigorously refute the accusations.

Aveling Homes – Customers Mislead by the Fake Reviews

One online reviewer, “Kristy,” claimed that picking Aveling to construct her home was a mistake.

Her Words “ I chose Aveling Home(s) because of this website!! I saw many good comments so I choose (sic) this company.” “Now I have been waiting more than two months and the land is still the same, it means they didn’t do anything … if they can’t do it why they took my money???”

Additionally, the ACCC asserts that Mr. Quartermaine knew about the business’ actions. Declaratory relief, monetary fines, injunctions, corrective notices, a compliance program, factual findings, and expenses are what the ACCC is requesting. Aveling may be fined more than $1 million, according to Mr. Schaper, if found guilty of misleading behavior.

Aveling Homes- Fake Shine of Online positive reviews 

Online reviews might help you decide what to buy or what company to hire. You should be able to trust that these reviews reflect the honest opinions of people who actually used a product or service. Unfortunately, some reviews are fake, deceptive, or manipulated and that hurts both people and honest companies.

How do you deal with fake online reviews?

• Always apologize and thank the consumer for their feedback.
• Keep responses appropriate and never place blame or argue.
• Invite the unsatisfied reviewer to continue the conversation offline.
•  Politely bring attention to fraudulent reviews with facts.
• Ask the reviewer to delete the fraudulent review.
• Try to get the fake review removed.

In the case of Aveling Homes, fake reviews From the 113 evaluations posted by customers on the independent website Product Review, 58 of them gave the business five stars. 48 of them have never written more than one review. The ABC met with a reviewer who seemed to have actually used Aveling to build a house and had good things to say about the company. A request for comments from others has not received a response.

Aveling Homes – Aveling Homes penalized $380,000 for misleading review websites

Aveling Homes Pty Ltd (Aveling Homes) was fined a total of $380,000 by the Federal Court for engaging in conduct that could have misled the public in connection with two online review websites. Mr. Sean Quartermaine, group sales and marketing manager for the organization, was made to pay $25,000 for knowing involvement in the behavior.

Aveling Homes is a Perth-based home-building company that operates and controls the review website www.avelinghomesproductreviews.com.au and until 3 February 2017 also operated and controlled the review website www.firsthomeownerscentreproductreviews.com.au.

After actions taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Federal Court determined that during some time in 2016, Aveling misrepresented each of its review websites’ affiliation with www.productreview.com.au and independence from the builder. Sean Quartermaine, group sales and marketing manager was penalized with a $25,000 fine for knowing involvement in the behavior.

Words by Rod Sims  “Aveling Homes held back bad reviews from its review website to give a more favorable impression of its services”. “Consumers are increasingly relying on online review sites to assist with their purchasing decisions. They are entitled to expect that review sites are independent and unbiased.” “Companies publishing customer reviews online must be clear with consumers whether or not they accurately reflect the full range of consumer feedback the good and the bad,”

The Court also discovered that Aveling Homes’ goods and services obtained higher overall star ratings and reviews on review websites than they would have if all of the reviews Aveling Homes had received had been made public. Mr. Quartermaine created the functions and aesthetics of the review websites that led to the unlawful behavior. Aveling Homes promised the court that it would refrain from similar behavior for three years and that it would pay some of the ACCC’s expenses.

Aveling Homes- Using Illegal Practices to Bury Negative Press

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), enacted in the United States in 1998, implements two International Intellectual Property Organization accords from 1996. (WIPO). It makes it unlawful to create and distribute tools, technologies, or services that are designed to get around restrictions on access to copyrighted content (commonly known as digital rights management or DRM).

Aveling Homes Frequently Asked Questions

What is Aveiling Homes? 

Aveling Homes is a residential building company that has operated in Western Australia since 2009. During the relevant period, Aveling Homes operated two home-building businesses, Aveling Homes and First Home Owners Centre. Aveling Homes operated an official website and a review website for each business

Where are Aveling Homes Situated?

Aveling Homes is situated at 42 Cedric St, Stirling WA 6021, Australia.

What did Aveling homes do?

Aveling Homes, a Perth-based home builder, was fined $380,000 for engaging in behavior that could have misled the public in relation to two online review websites.

Aveling Homes- Conclusion

Aveling undertook to the court not to engage in similar conduct for a period of three years and agreed to contribute to the ACCC’s costs. In a statement this afternoon, Aveling mentioned that the website avelinghomesproductreviews.com.au was established in 2014 to publish a selection of customer testimonials.

In the statement by the company– “These are verified reviews completed by clients who have built with us. We acknowledge that we did not post all positive and negative reviews on this website,”. “We now appreciate that some consumers were likely to have gained the wrong impression that the website was operated independently of Aveling Homes or was in some way associated with productreview.com.” 

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the source GRIPEO.COM and do not necessarily reflect the official position of ‘Dr. Ronald Ashburn,’ which shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies presented. The information provided within this article is for general informational purposes only. While we try to keep the information up-to-date and correct, there are no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of the information in this article for any purpose.

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