Online motor parts seller convicted of dodgy dealings under new company name
- An online motor parts seller and his business were collectively fined $120,000 for breaching Australian Consumer Law.
- The Office of Fair Trading took them to court for failing to provide almost $25,000 worth of goods and services to customers.
- Jason Paul Murray was prosecuted and penalised for similar conduct as sole director of his former company J.P. & K.M. Murray in 2019, 2021 and November 2025.
A Logan online motor parts seller who continued to rip off consumers under a new business name has been convicted and fined in the Beaudesert Magistrates Court just months after being successfully prosecuted for offences committed while sole director of his former company.
Jason Paul Murray pleaded guilty to three counts of wrongly accepting payment and one count of misleading consumers under Australian Consumer Law after he failed to supply reconditioned engines to consumers and refused to repay their deposits.
He was fined $90,000.
Murray was the sole director of Japam Pty Ltd and it was fined a further $30,000.
Convictions were recorded against both Murray and Japam Pty Ltd.
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigators found that Murray and his company received payments from customers to build and supply reconditioned engines for their vehicles between March 2023 and June 2024.
He subsequently failed to supply the goods and when the consumers requested their monies be refunded, he failed to do so.
The investigation identified a further breach of Australian Consumer Law with the company’s website displaying an illegal refund policy.
This misled consumers into believing they were not entitled to a refund, repair or replacement.
The court ordered Murray pay $24,700 to the nine affected consumers involved in the OFT’s case.
The OFT previously prosecuted Mr Murray for a combined total of 20 counts of wrongly accepting payment and failing to supply under Australian Consumer Law in 2019, 2021, and 2025, while he was the sole director of his former company J.P & K.M. Murray Pty Ltd. The company traded as Brisbane Motor Imports from a Slacks Creek premises and went into voluntary liquidation on 9 March 2023.
Due to these previous court actions, on this occasion the OFT sought additional orders from the court to help protect future consumers. The court agreed and made orders including:
To provide full terms and conditions to customers prior to entering into contracts
To inform customers of their refund rights prior to giving any quotes or invoices
To provide a written quote to customers for all work and must only accept a 20% deposit.
Acting Commissioner for Fair Trading Craig Turner said the current case highlighted the unscrupulous behaviour of the trader who, despite previous prosecutions, created a new company in a bid to keep ripping off consumers.
“The OFT has responded to consumer complaints, issued a public warning and taken successful court action against this trader and his companies since 2019, with fines totalling $370,000 being imposed and a total of $154,100 ordered to be returned to consumers,” Mr Turner said.
“The victims in these cases thought they were buying reconditioned vehicle engines, parts, or services, but instead ended up in financial and emotional distress when they didn’t receive the goods or their deposits back.
“Consumers should be able to expect that they will get the goods and services they pay for and, if there is an issue, they won’t be misled by traders about what they’re legally entitled to.
“Dodgy traders shouldn’t think that they can hide their deceptive dealings from the OFT by setting up new companies and business names.
“We will continue to prosecute those who break the law and warn the public about their illegal activities to protect consumers and help enforce their rights under the Australian Consumer Law.”
If you have not received goods or services that you paid for, and have not been able to resolve the issue with the trader, you can make a complaint to OFT at qld.gov.au/fairtrading.