Media Release - Consumer Action Law Centre

Media release: Public education the key to realising the benefits of Victoria’s smart meter rollout

Households can look forward to the long promised but often delayed benefits of smart meters following the Victorian Government’s decision to go ahead with the rollout, due to be completed by the end o...

Media release: National unfair contract terms and consumer guarantees to be under the spotlight

The Australian Consumer Law’s unfair contract terms provisions are set to be tested in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after the Consumer Action Law Centre issued proceedings ag...

Media release: Committee’s report shows responsible lending laws aren’t enough

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the finding from a parliamentary committee of inquiry that Australia’s responsible lending laws don’t sufficiently protect consumers from harmful payday loa...

Media release: Door-to-door salespeople meeting a sticky end

A national Do Not Knock campaign, aiming to put a stop to unwelcome, dishonest and intimidating door-to-door salespeople, has begun with the Consumer Action Law Centre launching a new interactive webs...

Media release: Energy rules must change—consumers and big business agree

Consumer groups from around Australia have joined the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and some of the nation’s biggest businesses in calling for reform to the process that sets electricity network p...

Media release: ASIC payday lending report reveals fundamental non-compliance—a cap is needed

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) report, Review of micro lenders' responsible lending conduct and disclosure obligations. Catrio...

Media release: Time for the Federal Opposition to show its hand on payday lending reforms

A coalition of consumer groups has called on the Federal Opposition to back the Government’s proposed national credit reforms, which are designed to protect payday loan borrowers from effective intere...

Media release: Consumer Action welcomes ASIC investigation into broker responsible lending conduct

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the release of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC) investigation into mortgage brokers' responsible lending conduct, focusing on ‘low d...

Media release: Stronger response needed to ensure consumers are protected in times of disaster

The Consumer Action Law Centre has expressed disappointment with the Government’s initial response to the National Disaster Insurance Review (NDIR) Panel's report which it labelled as 'indecisive'. Wh...

Media release: Government warned that new credit card regulation may require running repairs

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Federal Government’s ban on credit providers making unsolicited credit card limit increase offers to customers, but believes that ambiguity in the regul...

Media release: Is eBay selling consumers short?

The Consumer Action Law Centre has taken its concerns about outdated and potentially misleading information on eBay.com.au to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after eBay Inter...

Media release: Report into consumer credit insurance exposes dirty tactics

The Consumer Action Law Centre has responded to ASIC’s report into consumer credit insurance (CCI), by saying that it confirms two of its long held suspicions; that many lenders selling CCI are using...

Media release: Payday lending practices challenged in court

The lending practices of Australian’s biggest payday lender, Cash Converters, are being challenged in proceedings issued in the Victorian Magistrates Court. A disability support pensioner is alleging...

Media release: New website delivers the cold hard and sad facts about payday lending

A coalition of consumer and financial counselling organisations has launched a new website to ensure the hard truths are heard in the debate about the future of short term high cost loans - www.debttr...

Media release: Unfair process leading to higher electricity prices

Two prominent consumer advocacy groups are calling for the federal government to abolish the current process of appeal for electricity distribution pricing determinations. A new report released by the...

Media release: Government reforms offer a branch to consumers stuck in high cost short term lending quicksand

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Federal Government’s proposed cap on the amounts lenders of high cost short term loans (often referred to as 'payday loans') can recover from consumers,...

Media release: Complex energy contracts are confusing consumers and stifling choice

Energy retail contracts have been put under the microscope in a report just released by the Consumer Action Law Centre. And while the report found that most contracts largely met their regulatory requ...

Media release: Jobseekers should know that unpaid work is unlawful

Two leading community legal centres have joined forces to warn jobseekers about the practices of some recruitment and job placement agencies that are directing clients into unpaid trial work, using th...

Media release: ASIC grants licence to ‘misleading, deceptive and unconscionable’ trader

In a move that has disappointed the Consumer Action Law Centre, ASIC has granted a consumer credit licence to a company whose conduct has been found to be misleading, deceptive and unconscionable. Th...

Media release: New energy sales self-regulation scheme fundamentally flawed

Consumer Action Law Centre has today warned that a new self-regulatory approach for door-to-door sales of energy marketing is unlikely to reduce consumer detriment caused by widespread poor practices...

Media release: 400 per cent interest rates undermine ‘responsible lending laws’

Exorbitant effective interest rates on short term loans, upwards of 400 per cent, continue to put the pinch on vulnerable Australians despite the introduction of responsible lending laws in 2010. Mis...

Media release: Consumer groups urge cross benchers to support a ban on mortgage early exit fees

A coalition of consumer groups is urging Parliament’s cross-benchers to support the Government’s proposed ban on mortgage early exit fees, a ban which will improve competition amongst lenders and shin...

Media release: Legal tribunal finds Motor Finance Wizard’s practices ‘unfair’ and ‘seriously flawed

Motor car dealer and financier Motor Finance Wizard has been ordered to cancel a car lease contract with a vulnerable customer, refund her money and clear her credit report. The legal decision, made...

Media release: Government’s insurance reforms challenge the insurance industry to step up

The Fair Go in Insurance coalition* welcomes the proposed insurance reform package put forward by the Federal Government today but warns that several reforms are not guaranteed and would be unlikely t...

Media release: Dell backs down on contract terms that failed to compute

Consumer Action Law Centre has withdrawn proceedings against Dell Computer Pty Ltd in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on behalf of its co- CEO, Carolyn Bond after the company amended i...

Media release: Let’s call a flood a flood and give Australians fair go in insurance

A twelve point plan released today by the country’s leading insurance law experts for households and consumers clearly sets out the current problems with insurance and their solutions, and puts the pr...

Media release: Consumer group takes on distributors to keep energy prices down

Consumer advocates are preparing to fight Victoria’s billion-dollar electricity distribution businesses in the Federal Court in a last ditch bid to prevent consumers feeling the pain of unfair electri...

Media release: Consumers must be given a fighting chance against rising electricity and gas bills

Consumer Action Law Centre says it’s time for the Victorian Government and its energy industry watchdog, the Essential Services Commission, to take real action to help consumers switch and save on the...

Media release: Baillieu Government facing its first test on electricity bills after Victorian distributors appeal regulator’s decision to keep process low

Consumer Action Law Centre says Victorians urgently need their new Government to take up its legal right to defend the Australian Energy Regulator’s recent decision to keep electricity costs for Victo...

Media release: Regulator pulls the plug on energy fat cats – but appeal looms

Consumer Action Law Centre supports today’s announcement that Victorian households will be protected from the huge price increases the state’s electricity distributors were seeking to impose over the...

Media release: Computer says no – formal complaint to ACCC after Dell gets it wrong on consumer refund rights

Consumer Action Law Centre has made a formal complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after its own CEO was given the run-around by Dell Computer Pty Ltd on her right to a refun...

Media release: Westpac’s debt collection practices the latest under the spotlight

Consumer Action Law Centre has made a formal complaint to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about Westpac’s debt collection procedures for customers in financial hardship, only a we...

Media release: New research report shows exponential growth of 400% + pa. Interest rate loans in Australia

An explosive new research report released today by Consumer Action Law Centre reveals that the high cost short term lending industry in Australia – sometimes referred to as payday lending industry -...

Media release: Voters have a choice on consumer policies when they go to the polls

Large differences in the major parties’ responses to the Australian consumer groups’ Election Platform mean voters can consider their future needs as consumers before making their decision on Saturday...

Media release: Family pays $2,500 for holiday but owner refuses to let them stay

Consumer Action Law Centre has issued proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on behalf of a client who alleges a holiday house owner wrongly kept her payment for her family hol...

Media release: Consumer groups say new tax to replace fire services levy is a bad idea

Consumer advocates are disappointed with the Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendation to scrap the fire services levy in favour of a property based levy saying it will be bad for local councils and...

Media release: Global maths and English sued by disappointed parent

Consumer Action Law Centre has launched proceedings on behalf of a client in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against Global Maths and English and their linked credit provider, Ardenna...

Media release: Cases multiply against maths software provider Edufin

Consumer Action Law Centre has issued five separate proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against educational software provider Edufin, all of which deal with cases where pare...

Media release: Phone scammers use bank fees class action to rip off consumers

Consumer Action is urging consumers to watch out for scammers who are swindling hundreds of dollars from unwitting consumers with bogus claims of being able to recover thousands of dollars in overchar...

Media release: Consumer groups say – don’t unplug Australians!

Consumer representatives from across the nation tell Energy Ministers to lift their game on the national energy consumer law or put more Australians at risk of being cut-off from electricity and gas....

Media release: New energy law penal ties fall woefully short on consumer protection

Consumer Action Law Centre says the new national energy consumer law proposed by the Federal and State Governments will make it more profitable for energy retailers to violate consumer rights than act...

Media release: Clive Peeters’ collapse not ‘so eeeasy’ for some unlucky customers

Consumer Action Law Centre is warning customers to be cautious about buying goods from failed white goods and electronics retailer Clive Peeters unless they take them away on the day, saying many cust...

Media release: Consumer groups fear City Water users will get the ‘South Gippsland treatment’ under unified water laws

Consumer groups are concerned that large water bill price rises for Melbournians will be combined with new unfair and punitive measures to pursue payment. Janine Rayner, Senior Policy Officer at the...

Media release: Business loopholes in new consumer lending laws could spell disaster for vulnerable borrowers

Consumer Action is warning consumers to avoid unregistered or unlicensed brokers and lenders now that new national consumer lending laws are coming into force. Consumer Action has started legal actio...

Media release: Debt collector complaints too small-fry for consumer watchdog ASIC

Consumer Action Law Centre has issued proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against both the debt collection company ACM and the National Australia Bank (NAB) on behalf of a c...

Media release: Victorians deserve a better deal on rental housing

Minimum standards to ensure all Victorian rental properties are safe, healthy and affordable to live in are urgently needed, said Victoria’s state-wide telephone and web financial counselling service,...

Media release: ‘Shonky’ brokers stopped from slipping through the cracks

Consumer Action has welcomed the efforts of the Coalition and Greens in working with the Victorian Government to make amendments to a Bill to ensure consumers won’t fall victim to ‘shonky’ brokers bec...

Media release: Insurance industry tells B.R.C disaster relief is bad for business

More than a year after the Black Saturday bushfires devastated Victoria, a submission to the Bushfires Royal Commission on behalf of the Insurance Council of Australia has complained that post-disaste...

Media release: Parents need to learn more before they sign up for educational software

We all think we could resist the slick spiel of the in-home salesman, so why is it that so many people end up saying ‘yes’. Now researchers, lead by Dr Paul Harrison from Deakin University, have answe...

Media release: Legitimacy of private car park ‘fines’ could finally be decided

Consumer Action Law Centre has sought leave to add new claims of unconscionable conduct and harassment to its test case against private car park operator Care Park on behalf of its client, Mitchell Da...

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