Mortgage broker mayhem
CHOICE and the Consumer Action and Financial Rights Legal Centre are calling on the federal government to act on conflicted remuneration in the mortgage market following an ASIC report that found wide...
How to avoid a credit card debt disaster
Did you know that Australians owe over $50 billion (and rising) on their credit cards? Here are some tips from Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody on how we can stop Australians’ love of credi...
Consumer protection in the banking, insurance and financial sector
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to provide a submission to the Senate Inquiry into consumer protection in the banking, insurance and financial sector. Read the full subm...
Victorian mum sues Cash Converters alleging unjust pawn agreements and payday loans
A Victorian mother of seven has taken Cash Converters to court alleging that 76 pawn agreements and 23 payday loans were unjust and unconscionable. She alleges that repaying the payday loans and pa...
Consumer groups urge banks to implement recommendations of banking code report
Consumer Groups today welcomed the release of the Independent Khoury Review of the Australian Banking Association’s Code of Banking Practice as an important step in the right direction of improving th...
Retail Remuneration Review – Issues Paper
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), is pleased to provide a submission in response to the Retail Remuneration Review Issues Paper (Issues Paper). As stated in our joint response to th...
Australians need a one-stop-shop ombudsman to deal with banking & finance complaints
Getting problems with your bank, insurance or finance company solved fairly and quickly is too hard and Australia needs a one-stop-shop ombudsman for financial service problems, say leading consumer a...
Victims of financial scandals need simple justice – response to Ramsay EDR Review
Following the slew of financial scandals Australians have faced in recent years, consumer advocates say that Australians need simple and accessible justice with reformed Ombudsman services. The Rev...
Payday lending reform will make people’s lives better
Consumer advocates say that the Government’s response to a recent review of payday lending and consumer leases laws is a good start and can go further to support Australians who are struggling to make...
House of Representatives’ Economics Committee, Review of the Four Major Banks – Consumer Action response
In response to the report published today by the House of Representatives’ Economics Committee, Review of the Four Major Banks, Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Gerard Brody said: “Dispute resolution...
Dispute resolution and complaint handling in the financial services sector – Letter to the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP
Consumer advocates have written to the Prime Minister about access to justice in the finance and banking sector. "Our organisations have supported and represented thousands of consumers in disputes w...
Eager homebuyers still falling victim to shadowy rent-to-buy deals
Eileen Webb, Curtin University and Allan Fels, University of Melbourne Those looking to get a piece of the Australian dream of buying a home are still falling victim to the shadow property market o...
The “Australian dream” devastated by housing black market: Report
Professor Allan Fels launches “Fringe Dwellings: The vendor finance and rent-to-buy housing black market” – High res for download here. Struggling Aussies are losing their life savings to...
Fringe dwellings – the vendor finance and rent-to-buy housing black market: Report
Vendor finance and rent-to-buy schemes promise the Australian dream of owning your own home—without a bank loan. However, these deals typically do not result in successful homeownership and in some...
Fringe dwellings – the vendor finance and rent-to-buy housing black market: Report
Vendor finance and rent-to-buy schemes promise the Australian dream of owning your own home—without a bank loan. However, these deals typically do not result in successful home ownership and in som...
Consumer Action takes Commonwealth Bank to Ombudsman over alleged irresponsible lending
Consumer Action has lodged a complaint against the CBA with the Financial Ombudsman Service. A 57 year old Melbourne woman living with a disability alleges alleges that the bank has not met its legal...
Independent review of product sales commissions and product based payments
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) and Good Shepherd Microfinance (GSM) are pleased to provide a joint submission in response to the Aus...
Joint Consumer Representative Submission to the Australian Bankers’ Association Inc Independent Review of the Code of Banking Practice 2016
Click here to read the Joint Consumer Representative Submission to the Australian Bankers’ Association Inc Independent Review of the Code of Banking Practice 2016 [pdf]....
Unfair bank fees live another day. Now time for law reform: Consumer Action and CHOICE
The law must be changed to restore fairness in bank fees according Consumer Action Law Centre and CHOICE. Following the High Court’s decision today which allows banks to continue charging exorbitan...
Credit Cards: improving consumer outcomes and enhancing competition
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and the Financial Rights Legal Centre (FRLC) is pleased to comment on the proposed reforms outlined in Credit cards: improving consumer outcomes and enhanc...
Consumer property law review: Issue Paper 3: Sale of land and business
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to make this submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria's (CAV) review of Victoria's consumer property laws on Issue Paper 3: Sale of land and busi...
Submission to Consumer Property Law Review: Issue Paper 2 – Owners corporations
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to make this submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria's (CAV) review of Victoria's consumer property laws on Issue Paper 2: Owners corporations (...
Improving bankruptcy and insolvency laws – Proposals paper
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input to proposed changes to Australia’s bankruptcy and insolvency laws. To read a PDF of the submission online,...
Review of the Small Amount Credit Contract Laws – Final Report
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to comment on the Review of the Small Amount Credit Contract Laws – Final Report as part of The Treasury's review of the Small Amount Credit Con...
Residential Tenancies Act review: Issues Paper 3 – Rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to comment on Issues Paper 3 - Rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants as part of Consumer Affairs Victoria's (CAV's) review of the...
Residential Tenancies Act review: Issues Paper 2 – Rent, bonds and other charges
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to comment on Issues Paper 2—Rent, bonds and other charges as part of Consumer Affairs Victoria's (CAV) review of Victoria's Residential Tenanci...
Payday loans the next financial disaster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaVTYoVoZaE A financial disaster is looming unless there is an urgent response to expert recommendations to clean up payday loans and consumer leases. As pressure...
Review of Card Payments Regulation – Consultation Paper
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the reforms proposed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in the Review of Card Payments Regulation Consultation Paper (Consultation Paper), relea...
Response to a finance sector Royal Commission: Gerard Brody
In response to the announcement that a Labor Government would initiate a Royal Commission into the finance sector, Consumer Action Law CEO Gerard Brody said: “A Royal Commission into the finance se...
Submission to consumer property law review: Issue Paper 1 – Conduct and institutional arrangements for estate agents, conveyancers and owners corporation managers
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to make this submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria's (CAV) review of Victoria's consumer property laws on Issue Paper 1: Conduct and instituti...
Submission to Council on Federal Financial Relations Affordable Housing Working Group – Innovative financing models
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to make this submission to the Affordable Housing Working Group. Consumer Action's legal service and financial counselling service assist many...
Vendor terms and rent-to-buy schemes
Vendor terms or 'rent-to-buy' schemes promise to help you buy property when you don’t have the income, savings or credit history to get a regular mortgage. Often there’s a broker or agent who advertis...
Our finances are a mess – could behavioral science help clean them up?
Hal Hershfield, University of California, Los Angeles and Abigail Sussman, University of Chicago The first few months of a new year can be a stressful time financially. The Christmas holidays typic...
Victorian Mum takes on consumer rental company Flexirent and wins
A Victorian Mum of four has won a settlement of nearly $4000 after she took legal action against Flexirent Capital Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the ASX listed company FlexiGroup Limited. Michelle T...
Submission: SACC Review Interim Report
Consumer Action has made its submission in response to the SACC Review Interim Report. We continue to push for tighter regulation on payday loans and consumer leases, which have been shown to cause si...
Payday loans: Julie’s Story
Julie is a single mother who subsists on Centrelink payments. She was recently involved in a family breakdown and suffers from mental health issues. She has had her Centrelink reduced and as a result...
Payday loans: James’ Story
James says he has had approximately 8 to 12 payday loans from a payday lender (that also operates as a pawnbroker) in the last 12 to 18 months, but he's lost count. James says that he was recently pro...
The common car product you might get a refund for
Australians are demanding better from the products sold with used cars and winning. Sarah from Melbourne’s south east thought she had to buy an extended warranty in order to get a loan. Consumer Ac...
Payday loans: Laura’s Story
Laura lives in public housing and receives a Centrelink pension. She has a mild intellectual disability and suffers from mental illness. Laura has two young children one of which has a mild intellectu...
Review of the small amount credit contract laws – Submission
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the review of the small amount credit contract laws and comparable consumer leases (the review). Read the full...
Add-on insurance – watch out!
Consumer Action has helped a client take on one of Australia's biggest finance companies about add-on insurance and a high-cost loan. In April 2013, our elderly client asked for a loan of $10,000 to...
New research shows struggling Australians suffering while the payday lending sector booms: Consumer groups
Consumer groups have cautioned policy makers not to fall for payday lending spin as new research from Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) shows the devastating impact of the industry on Australians strugg...
Cash Converters taken to court after reforms fail to protect vulnerable
Payday lending reforms from 2013 have failed vulnerable Australians according to Consumer Action Law Centre, as they take Cash Converters to court on behalf of a disability support pensioner over a ca...
ASIC report highlights exorbitant costs of rent-to-buy household goods: Consumer groups
The poorest and most vulnerable Australians are paying grossly inflated prices for household goods via “rent-to-buy” or “consumer lease” deals, as shown by a new report from the Australian Securities...
Rent-to-buy products must be kicked off Centrepay
Leading consumer groups are calling for the Australian Parliament to support moves by the Senate to protect the integrity of Centrelink’s budgeting tool for essentials, Centrepay, by excluding rent-to...
Review is opportunity to improve protections for payday loan and rent-to-buy borrowers
Payday lending and rent-to-buy products are often a source of financial distress and hardship according to Consumer Action Law Centre. The centre welcomes the Federal Government's announcement that it...
ALP National Conference: Labor needs to take a stand on payday loans.
Where the poorest pay the most - our session at #ALPConf2015 Fringe #auspol — Consumer Action (@consumer_action) July 26, 2015 Today, at an ALP National Conference fringe event, Consumer Actio...
Don’t make the poor pay more – time to end the free ride for rent to buy businesses: Consumer Groups
Consumer groups say draft legislation to ban rent-to-buy goods providers from Centrepay (Centrelink’s service that allows third parties to receive direct payment from welfare payments) is an essential...
Australians should be compensated for poor financial advice: Consumer groups
Australia’s leading consumer groups have made a joint submission to the Senate Economics Committee’s Scrutiny of Financial Advice Inquiry calling for a last resort compensation scheme for consumers wi...
Submission to the Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of energy retailers
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the Essential Services Commission's (the Commission) Inquiry into the financial hardship arrangements of ene...