We have seen Millions of dollars evaporate and FOS and ASIC at least so far could not cover us. We have little hope that can and have already lost more than 80% of our investment. So this may serve as a warning. For my personal case I don't want to disclose any details to be sure I do not engage in defamation or destroy anybody's livelihood. Please consider that ACCC / ASIC may need years to execute an intervention and so far I have not seen an advanced warning system for the general public. If these systems fail and there are no means to get compensation from PI insurance without going to court I plan to walk away. For my peace of mind it is important to forgive the perpetrator any personal debts.
Publicly available information about misrepresentations to sell information products are often hard to find. The first line of defence is to dominate search engine results with postive information. For example Dymphna Boholt is much admired and I personally really like her for the quality of information she passionately presents, but assuming complete honesty in wealth seminars is an illusion. Also the protection offered by ASIC and ACCC and FOS I would rate to be minimalist, that is extremely limited.
Even when action is taken it can take 5 years for ASIC or ACCC to drag a case through the courts. See 2009 news article about today tonights admission. And if I got it right only the TV channel was held responsible for infringing on regulations, not Dymphna Boholt, who didn’t get sued. The judge was of the opinion that she was not honest and has misrepresented her wealth to promote her seminars.
The Hon Justice Steven Rares has publically spoken (17 March 2009), but information is hard to find as ACCC and ASIC do not appear to have sufficiently effective registers to consolidate vital information and hence dominate the search engine results.
What do Alan Bond, wildly wealthy women and s 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 have in common? (The Hon Justice Steven Rares)
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedJSchol/2009/6.html
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/04-339+ASIC+restrains+wealth+creation+spruikers?openDocument
Is Dymphna Boholt a Scam? http://thishomebiz.com/blog/is-dymphna-boholt-a-scam/
Complaints about Knowledge Source Jon Giann and Dymphna Boholt
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/knowledge-source-victoria-c383233.html
http://www.bfcsa.com.au/index.php/scams/hall-of-shame
ASIC is on Twitter
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/ASIC+on+Twitter?openDocument
ASIC maintains a few public complaints registers, such as . . .
- Banned or disqualified person register
- Banned or disqualified organisation register
- Public warning notices
- ASIC Act Infringements
- Enforceable Undertakings
And ASIC Connect is on facebook https://www.facebook.com/asicconnect
A while ago I suggested that ASIC provides a complaints register to the public, so that everybody has an early warning system in screening companies / license holders. Still waiting for an answer. The register could be obscure, such as providing counters and dates only with a status flag: open closed pending. ASIC is far to slow to protect us early enough. Well I didn't see a public complaints register yet. Still waiting for an answer (or an excuse for why it can not be done or done any time soon).