“Car yards should be ashamed”: tips on avoiding car yard shonks
Consumer Action Law Centre is warning Australians about the behaviour of car yard shonks following an ASIC action refunding $400,000 to a group of NSW car buyers who were forced to purchase warran...
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...
ACCC rejects weak effort by insurers to fix junk insurance
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has today rejected a cynical move by the insurance industry to keep selling junk insurance products. The industry has placed blame on the size...
Public statement – Veda and Consumer Action Law Centre
Veda and the Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) have agreed upon a conciliated resolution to the representative complaint lodged by Consumer Action with the Office of the Australian Informat...
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...
Veda to refund consumers after breaching privacy rules
Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Ltd (Veda) is being forced to refund thousands of consumers who paid to obtain credit reports under Veda’s expedited delivery deal, according to a dec...
Debt vulture companies are ripping off Australians and stirring up the credit industry
It is not often that consumer advocates and the credit industry see eye to eye. Money worries keep many Australians up at night and for some companies this is good for business. When watching TV br...
Time to abolish unfair energy appeals
At their meeting in Melbourne this week, Energy Ministers from around the country will consider an issue that has the potential to save households and businesses hundreds of millions of dollars each y...
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...
Power price shock – fake discounts gouge Victorians
Energy price rises announced today will hit Victorians hard as the Consumer Action Law Centre warns energy companies to remember that their product is an essential service. "Over 60,000 Victorians...
Cooling-off periods for consumers don’t work: study
Paul Harrison, Deakin University When customers are offered a “cooling off” period, they don’t change their minds, even when the alternative is considered subjectively better, our research finds. W...
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...
Cooling off doesn’t work: New research
Australians have been told for decades that “cooling off” periods will protect them from predatory salespeople, but new research shows dodgy salespeople still have the upper hand. Dr Paul Harrison,...
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...
Federal Government takes on VET scandals with Ombudsman — states urged to play their part.
Following years of vocational educational scandals, students with debts under the beleaguered VET FEE-HELP scheme will soon have somewhere to turn to for help. Consumer Action Law Centre (“Consumer...
Cash Converters penalty not enough. Government must act on payday loans: Consumer Action
Struggling Aussies are set to get much-needed cash back in their pockets following major enforcement action by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). With news that payday len...
Life insurance code a modest first step, needs more work: Consumer Groups
The life insurance industry’s new code of practice is a modest step but much more work is needed to deliver good consumer protection, say Financial Rights Legal Centre and Consumer Action Law Centre....
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...
New legal advice shows Government can claw back VET FEE-HELP money
Consumer Action Law Centre today released new legal advice from an eminent Queen’s Counsel about the Federal Government’s ability to claw back VET FEE-HELP funding. The advice is that the Government...
Parliamentary Inquiry into Retirement Housing commences today
The much anticipated Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the retirement housing sector commences today at Parliament House. Representatives from government, the retirement housing industry and the co...
Junk insurance victims fight back as ASIC report damns industry
Australians sold junk insurance are demanding their money back as ASIC releases a damning report into the atrocious value and shocking sales practices at car yards. The ASIC “A market that is faili...
Banking tribunal may not deliver: Consumer experts
A coalition of consumer organisations have cautioned the Turnbull Government about the establishment of a Banking Tribunal. Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Financial Coun...
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...
Indigenous insurance exploitation must be stopped following court decision: Consumer groups
A Federal Court decision has allowed for the continued exploitation of Indigenous Australians through dud Funeral Insurance schemes. For years, low income Indigenous communities have been targeted...
New polling shows that Australians are ready for a Retail Ombudsman
A new poll released today made a strong case for the establishment of a Retail Ombudsman, a free and informal way to resolve disputes between everyday Australians and businesses, including tradies and...
Andrew Leigh and Labor announce beefed up ACCC
Today at a media conference with Labor's Andrew Leigh, Consumer Action Law Centre's Gerard Brody called out current penalties under the Australian Consumer Law as "inadequate". The following commen...
Senator Nick Xenophon and Last Resort Compensation Scheme
Today at a media conference with Independent Senator for SA Nick Xenophon, Consumer Action Law Centre again called for the establishment of a Last Resort Compensation Scheme to protect people left out...
Good enough for Google. Good enough for Australia.
Google’s decision last week to ban the advertisement of payday loans demonstrates that the world is moving against the proliferation of payday loans. It is Australia’s turn to show leadership and clam...
Consumer groups welcome a stronger ASIC
Consumer groups CHOICE and Consumer Action Law Centre welcome today’s announcement of new funding and powers to protect consumers of financial services. In 2014-15 ASIC’s budget was reduced by $120...
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...
NAB locks out the most vulnerable from unfair bank fees refunds
Consumer Action Law Centre has written to the CEO of National Australia Bank (NAB) requesting that vulnerable customers unfairly excluded from its bank fees class action deal be compensated. On 6 A...
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...
Australians urged to fight back against junk insurance and demand over $70m in refunds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLFnf30Qu6k Australians could be due for over $70m* worth of refunds each year for insurance and warranty products they don’t even know they’ve bought. The latest...
Energy retailers to help Victorians stay out of debt: Consumer Groups
Energy retailers are to provide improved, targeted assistance to customers experiencing financial difficulty under a proposed new regulatory framework announced by the Andrews Government today. The fr...
From Good to Great – the Australian Consumer Law Review and beyond – Consumer Congress 2016 Speech
Gerard Brody, National Consumer Congress, 16 March 2016 The Australian Consumer Law has served the community well since it was enacted back in 2010, and it has produced a number of significant outc...
“Because you need an interpreter should not disadvantage you and you should not be punished for it”
Funding for the Telephone Interpreter Service must be restored. Email EO@FCRC.org.au to find out more....
As Australians face over $1 trillion personal debt crisis, advocates warn about ‘debt vultures’
With ABS data showing that Australians are living with over $1 trillion of personal debt, consumer advocates are warning that an emerging industry of ‘debt vultures’ is making things worse. Debt vu...
Stop selling junk – ASIC reports show how Australians are being dudded out of millions
Consumer Action Law Centre is calling on insurance and warranty companies to stop selling junk following the release of two damning ASIC reports. ASIC today released two reports examining add-on in...
Consumer Action responds: Parliamentary Inquiry into Retirement Housing
Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has responded to the establishment today of a Parliamentary Inquiry into the retirement housing sector. The inquiry will be heard by the Legal and Social I...
‘Debt vultures’ in the spotlight
Australians live with over $1 trillion in personal debt, according to recent data from the Reserve Bank of Australia. That’s a staggering figure that should have economists, legislators and regulators...
Good communication the key to successful electricity tariff reform: Gerard Brody
In response to "Andrews Government accused of killing $1.6b benefit of tariff changes" (3/2/2016) in the Australian Financial Review: Claims that the Victorian Andrews Government’s ‘backing away’ f...
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...
Debt vultures are not your friends
The huge up-front fees and dubious value of services provided by for-profit debt businesses is in the spotlight after a new report by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Co...
Training Provider Open Colleges sued for breach of consumer law
As the crisis in Vocational Education deepens, another student is fighting back by taking on education provider Open Colleges in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Tanea Ferris (a 52...
Stop lifelong debt sentences – Consumer Action responds to Credit Card Inquiry.
The Government must take meaningful action on the lifelong debt sentences wreaking havoc on many Australians by credit cards. Consumer Action Law Centre commends the recommendation of the Senate in...
Junk merchants fleecing millions from unknowing Australians
Unknowing Australians could be paying millions of dollars for junk insurance according to a new report from Consumer Action Law Centre. The ‘Junk Merchants’ report says that Consumer Credit (CCI) a...
Building consumer protections welcomed
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the introduction into State Parliament of a bill to improve building consumer protection. The Building Legislation Amendment (Consumer Protection) Bill 2015...
VET Sector needs a national ombudsman: Consumer Action
Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes reforms announced today by the Federal Government for the vocational education and training (VET) sector and calls for the establishment of a national ombudsman sch...
FIX IT! How to fix the energy market rule making process – an evaluation
Since 2012, consumer advocates have been able to propose a ‘rule change’ to the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR), which regulates the sale and supply of electricity and gas to retail customers in s...