Hotel guests warned of alarm fee
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned Perth hotel guests to be alert to unscrupulous hotels charging hundreds of dollars for a false fire alarm call-out fee that does not yet exist.
DFES last year announced plans to introduce a $750 fee for repeatedly attending false direct brigade alarms after spending $8 million needlessly racing to more than 10,700 fake emergencies in 2013-14.
It initially flagged levying the fee from July 1 but has taken longer than expected to bed down administrative systems, and the measure is still in the trial phase.
But Acting Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Lloyd Bailey said DFES was aware of reports that some hotels might already be charging patrons for falsely activating smoke alarms.
“If hotels are currently charging patrons for false fire alarm activations, it would be disingenuous if they were leading people to believe the charge was coming from DFES,” he said.
The development has given an indication of how the hotel industry — the second worse false alarm offender after hospitals — may treat the charge when it comes into force.
“It would be unfair to charge a person staying in a hotel if they have activated an alarm due to inappropriate placement of a smoke alarm or if it is a poorly maintained system,” Mr Bailey said.
Premises will be permitted three false direct brigade alarms a year and will be charged $750 for the fourth and subsequent call-outs.
Acting Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe said it would be a breach of consumer laws if a hotel passed on a charge not yet in place.
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said guests who triggered alarms by smoking might be charged a room cleaning fee, but he doubted hotels would pass on a non-existent DFES charge.
Source: The West Australian, Daniel Emerson, 29th September 2015
Originally published as: Hotel guests warned of alarm fee
