Before the days of iPads and car seat DVD players, most families played "I spy" to kill time on a driving holiday.
But not the family of retiring NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe. Instead they played "spot the illegal 'no refunds' sign".
![NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe and his beloved collection of fossils.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170711124838im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/7/5/h/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx75cp.png/1499554746579.jpg)
It's an anecdote that sums up nicely Mr Stowe's 40 years as a public servant, almost solely dedicated to consumer affairs.
From Nigerian money scams to dodgy builders and shonky real estate agents; in his six years as the Fair Trading Commissioner Mr Stowe has just about seen it all.
![Sheryl Aldeguer was found dead while wearing headphones, after a faulty charger sent a high current through her body.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170711124838im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/o/n/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx75cp.png/1499554746579.jpg)
"Go back to our annual reports from the 1970s and you'll see some of the same practices we see today," said.
"Like vulnerable men who were lured by women's introduction agencies, when the intent was merely to bleed them dry, financially… we still see that today, it's just [that] it's moved online."
When he packs up his Haymarket office next Friday, along with his extensive fossil collection, it won't be the first time.
It was a Saturday morning in July 2014 when Mr Stowe last gathered his 300-million year old fossils in a box, leaving mysteriously to go on holiday.
![Non-compliant USB chargers were implicated in the death of Sheryl Aldeguer in 2014.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170711124838im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/o/u/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx75cp.png/1499554746579.jpg)
At the time it was then-Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox who peddled the tale that Mr Stowe was "on leave," despite sources confirming the minister had just told Mr Stowe he no longer had confidence in him and asked him to leave.
In a bizarre twist, the commissioner returned to work five days later, while Mr Mason-Cox denied the sacking rumours.
![Serial offender Mathew Rixon was the subject of multiple Fair Trading investigations under Mr Stowe.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170711124838im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/3/b/7/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx75cp.png/1499554746579.jpg)
It followed the tragic death of 28-year-old nurse Sheryl Anne Aldeguer who was found dead wearing headphones, after she was electrocuted by a faulty USB charger connected to her computer.
As Fair Trading Commissioner, Mr Stowe had been the face of a public safety media blitz and subsequent raids on NSW retailers after the USB incident.
However in the weeks that followed, sources claimed the minister – the third in eight months – was keen to assert his authority after being absent from the public safety campaign, and may have felt undermined by Mr Stowe's strong media presence.
Today Mr Stowe remains unable to comment on whether or not he was fired by Mr Mason-Cox, except to say that he is "grateful" to those that gave him the opportunity to decide when his career came to an end.
"That probably didn't look like it would be the case a few years ago," he said.
Mr Stowe's former media adviser of eight years, Teresa Mullan, said "Rod's popularity and presence in the media was not universally warmly regarded."
"He was a formidable force and public face for Fair Trading and strangely appeared to have paid a price for that," said Ms Mullan, who is no longer with Fair Trading.
Deeming him an "old style public servant" Ms Mullan said Mr Stowe was an "endangered species," who has always worked with the media.
Ask Mr Stowe, and he'll say his media presence was always about keeping the public informed.
"When you work at Fair Trading you know the track record of traders and there's a whole lot of people you would never deal with, but the broader public don't know that."
One name he'll never forget is that of serial shonk and dodgy builder Matthew Rixon, who was caught targeting vulnerable and elderly consumers with unlicensed shoddy work.
Another is Sydney businessman Eddie Kang, convicted of fraud for charging foreign students tens of thousands of dollars for Australian residency sponsorship deals that never eventuated.
Mr Stowe said his only disappointment is that he won't be around to see the outcome of Mr Kang's conviction appeal – "I'll wait for the court to decide that one."
Naming and shaming is not something NSW Fair Trading takes lightly. Mr Stowe calls it "the nuclear option – when we believe consumers are in danger that is one of the things we can do."
After a career dedicated to consumer affairs, he is most proud of tackling the scandal-ridden VET-FEE Help sector, while the consumer rort to have shocked him the most is the romance scam.
"It's amazing how many people don't believe they have been scammed. And when they do find out, it's like losing a family member – and financially its ruinous," Mr Stowe said.
Former Fair Trading Commissioner John Holloway said the most difficult task for any commissioner is balancing competing interests, from consumers, to government and business, which Mr Stowe worked "tirelessly" to achieve.
- with Esther Han