Welcome to the Consumer Action Law Centre, a campaign-focused consumer advocacy, litigation & policy organisation based in Melbourne, Australia.
SCAM ALERT: Scammers are falsely using Consumer Action's name to obtain banking details from their victims. Consumer Action is not responsible for these calls and would never contact anyone requesting bank details. We strongly advise the public not to give out this information.
Latest news
February 2010
3/2: Insurance and the fire services levy. Consumer Action and other consumer groups want the insurance industry to tackle the real causes of under and non insurance in our community, instead of lobbying to remove the fire services levy which might jeopardise CFA funding for little benefit. Read our media release.
2/2: Important - Scam warning. Scammers are continuing to contact people claiming to be an employee or representative of Consumer Action.
The scammers claim to be checking whether banks are overcharging their customers and tell you that they have found that your bank is overcharging you and owes you thousands of dollars. They may ask you to pay money or to provide your bank account details so that they can claim money back for you from your bank. Consumer Action is not responsible for these calls.
We strongly advise the public - do not give any of your personal or bank account details to these callers and do not send them any money. Read our media release.
January 2010
29/1: Consumer InterAction. Consumer Action has relaunched its bi-monthly e-bulletin covering the latest news and developments in consumer law and policy from the Centre. Read Consumer InterAction.
25/1: Work at Consumer Action. We are looking for a new Coordinator for our Standards Project to start in mid-late February. Download the Position Description and apply here. Applications close 4pm Monday, 1 February.
20/1: Warning to parents: Beware VCE success courses and maths tutoring software. Read the official government warning. Consumer Action has also received complaints about such educational products and services.
December 2009
23/12: Casework success against money retrieval agency, Collection Point. Consumer Action has succeeded in a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) action against money retrieval agency, Collection Point, and recovered the sum of the sum of $1,108.85 for one of its clients. The case became more complicated when Collection Point’s lawyers launched proceedings in VCAT against Consumer Action. See our media release.
10/12: New national consumer law and protections for consumers sold to in their home. At their meeting on Friday, the Consumer Affairs Ministers agreed to the final form for a new single national consumer law for Australia. The meeting communiqué gives an overview of what the consumer law will look like and most states will enjoy greater consumer protections, with many of the existing Victorian laws to be adopted nationally.
However, there are some important details that were not included in the communiqué. For instance, it appears that Victorians will lose current protections against pressure selling if they “invited” a salesperson to their home. Under the new laws, Victorians will also lose their rights to clear and legible contracts – re-opening the door to unfair use of the “fine print”.
4/12: Door to door sales and in-home sales. The Consumer Affairs Ministers are meeting in Perth today to decide what rules from the states and territories will make it into the new single national consumer law for Australia.
Currently, Victorians enjoy some of the best protections from telemarketers, door to door salespeople and high pressure salespeople selling to them in their home. Victoria gives consumers strong cooling off rights and a salesperson can only stay in a consumer’s home for an hour before they must get written permission, every half hour, to stay longer.
The Ministers have released a plan to scrap these protections for consumers pressured into signing contracts in their home or workplace if they “invited” the salesperson in, even if the invitation was engineered such as when traders get consumers’ contact details from a shopping centre competition. The plan also flags scrapping the limits on how long salespeople can stay in a consumer’s home.
A recent Victorian Government report confirms the serious problems that consumers face when they invite a seller into their home. Consumer Action strongly believes these protections should not be sacrificed for the sake of harmonisation. Read our submission.
October 2009
30/10: Water. Consumer groups warn the delivery of Victoria’s water services could radically alter, following the release of an Essential Services Commission report paving the way for private operators to enter the state’s water sector. See our media release.
21/10: Win for Kleenmaid consumers. Consumer Action Law Centre has successfully represented a couple who sought to recover thousands of dollars they paid a finance company to purchase Kleenmaid goods they never received. See our media release here.
See a copy of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision in this matter here.
Our fact sheet has more information on how to recover money you paid a finance company to buy Kleenmaid goods.
19/10: New Financial Counselling Service Launched. The Victorian government has launched MoneyHelp, a new financial counselling call centre to help Victorians who have lost jobs or been forced to cut their hours as a result of the global economic downturn. The call centre will be managed by Consumer Action. Read our media release here.
15/10: Bank penalty fees. We welcome NAB’s announcement to scrap its credit card penalty fees. While ANZ, CBA and Westpac have tweaked some of their fees only NAB has got rid of them altogether. Read our joint media release with CHOICE.
15/10: Credit reporting reforms. While the Government’s announcement on credit reporting reforms contain some positive news for individual consumers, Consumer Action is deeply concerned that some of the new reforms could contribute to a rise in irresponsible lending practices such as those seen in the US in recent years. Read our media release
8/10: Important - Scam warning. Scammers are contacting people falsely claiming to be an employee or representative of Consumer Action.
The scammers claim to be checking whether banks are overcharging their customers and tell you that they have found that your bank is overcharging you and owes you thousands of dollars. They may ask you to pay money or to provide your bank account details so that they can claim money back for you from your bank.
Consumer Action is not responsible for these calls. We strongly advise the public - do not give any of your personal or bank account details to these callers and do not send them any money. Read our media release.
September 2009
14/9: Bankruptcy law reform. Consumer Action has made a joint submission to the Federal Government’s draft Bill proposing reforms to bankruptcy law. We support several changes including raising the minimum debt for forced bankruptcy from $2,000 to $10,000, but have concerns about expanding access to debt agreements when there are ongoing concerns with the way these agreements are marketed to consumers in financial difficulty.
1/9: Calling all Financial Counsellors - we need your help.
Consumer Action is currently compiling a report into the payday lending industry in Australia, and we would like to hear from financial counsellors who have experience with clients who use payday loans.
To learn more, click here.
August 2009
10/8: Kleenmaid. Consumer Action is representing a couple who lost over nine thousand dollars in the high profile collapse of Kleenmaid Pty Ltd earlier this year, against the loan company that financed their purchase. The matter will be heard today at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Read our media release.
Victorians who owe money in relation to Kleenmaid purchases can get more information from our factsheet