Online mobile phone reseller Android Enjoyed fined $3 million for consumer law violations

The Supreme Court of NSW has fined online electronics retailer Android Enjoyed and its director just over $3 million.

Android Enjoyed earned notoriety for running an online store that was very slow to deliver smartphones for which consumers paid in advance - if it delivered them at all. The company racked up hundreds of customer complaints.

Parent company Digital Marketing and Solutions, which also operates sister site Camera Sky, was ordered to pay $2.25 million in fines for contravening the NSW Australian Consumer Law.

Company director Yuen Ho Wong was also fined $900,000 and is now barred from being a director of a corporation.

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rose Webb said her office received some 637 total customer complaints on purchases made through Android Enjoyed and Camera Sky from January 2017 to July 2018.

“Complaints received indicated that on numerous occasions, Android Enjoyed and Camera Sky failed to supply mobile phones, cameras and camera accessories within a reasonable time or did not supply them at all,” Webb said.

“The company further failed to repair defective goods and failed to provide a refund within a reasonable time.”

Android Enjoyed appeared on the NSW Fair Trading complaints register 17 times since it was first published in July 2016, including eight consecutive months between November 2017 and June 2018.

NSW Fair Trading took both Wong and the company to court in September 2018, shortly after the two sites ceased operations the prior month. Fair Trading was granted a request for an injunction against the company in October 2018.

To anyone who wants to take advantage of consumers; you will be found out, and you will be punished

Fair Trading investigations reveal the company made false or misleading representations to customers that the goods purchased online were in stock and would be provided within a specified time frame, when in many cases, the goods were not in stock and could not be provided as promised.

Kevin Anderson, the NSW minister for better regulation and innovation, said Wong and Android Enjoyed have had “a long history” with Fair Trading, and have also received complaints from other states and territories.

“Today’s result sends a strong message to anyone who wants to take advantage of consumers; you will be found out, and you will be punished,” Anderson said.

“The sanctions the court has imposed are particularly significant given the challenges of dealing with internet-based traders who have a limited physical presence in Australia.”