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Kingston resident Elevisi Moli pleaded guilty to 12 charges of failing to comply with provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1989.

Nat Bromhead

A DOOR-to-door trader who offered an instant tree-lopping service to elderly Maryborough and Hervey Bay residents has been chopped off at the knees by the Department of Fair Trading.

Elevisi Moli, 43, of Kingston in Brisbane, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of failing to comply with the door-to-door provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1989 and was convicted and fined $2000 and ordered to pay $17,802 in compensation to three customers.

Office of Fair Trading executive director Brian Bauer said Mr Moli and a team of workers door-knocked the elderly on the Fraser Coast in April, May and September 2010, offering tree-lopping services and immediately asked them for either cash or cheques made out to cash.

“The Office of Fair Trading started an investigation in June 2010 after receiving complaints from family members on behalf of three of the elderly persons alleging Mr Moli had charged thousands of dollars for trimming tree branches and was taking advantage of vulnerable, trusting people,'' he said.

“In one instance, an 87-year-old Maryborough woman was charged $10,500 for work that was valued by qualified arborists at about $900. In another instance, an 83-year-old Hervey Bay man was charged $8600 for work that should have cost about $1200.

“The investigation found Mr Moli had breached the door-to-door trading provisions of the Fair Trading Act in that he had failed to present an identity card, failed to provide a written contract including all of the information required under the Act, provided services within the 10-day mandatory cooling off period; and accepted payment within the 10-day cooling off period.”

The Fraser Coast Chronicle ran a series of articles last year warning local residents that Mr Moli was in the area and how he was grossly overcharging for his services.

Mr Moli and his business, All Queensland Tree Service, were named by the Office of Fair Trading in June 2010 and again in March this year to warn people against having dealings with his business.

Mr Bauer said door-to-door traders had specific requirements they must abide by.