Media Release - Consumer Action Law Centre

Media Release: Consumer group welcomes extension of unfair terms protections to insurance contracts

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the announcement from Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury that unfair contract term laws will be extended to general insurance contracts. Protections against unf...

Media release: ASIC asked to investigate Radio Rentals and its ‘rent try $1 buy’ offer

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the release of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission's (ASIC) updated Good Practice Guidance for Credit and Financial Service Advertising a...

Media release: Review of energy retailers’ customer service is damning

The Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) annual review of Energy retailers’ customer service performance is damning of the industry’s ability to assist struggling households. The Consumer Action Law...

Media release: Victorian Building Authority a chance to recast fundamentally flawed consumer protection system

Consumer Action has welcomed the Victorian Government plan to establish a new body to oversee and enforce regulation in the domestic building industry. Consumer Action believes the creation of the Vic...

Media release: Consumer Group hits out at Energy Retail Code

The Energy Retail Code, which allows energy retailers to increase the price of electricity multiple times during the term of a contract, has come under fire from the Consumer Action Law Centre. In a l...

Media release: New consumer report makes practical recommendations on energy market reform

A new report from the Consumer Action Law Centre, A Policy Trilemma: creating an affordable, secure and sustainable energy market, authored by former UK EnergyWatch CEO and former Commonwealth Ombudsm...

Media release: Frenzied Christmas shopping can lead to a debt filled new year

On the eve of web marketing event Click frenzy, MoneyHelp has warned Australian consumers to consider their next credit card bill before proceeding to the virtual checkout. MoneyHelp, one of Australia...

Media release: Energy White Paper a significant improvement on draft

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the Federal Government's Energy White Paper, which it believes is a significant improvement from the draft. The Centre said that it was pleasing that the White...

Media release: Warning to consumers who are desperate to buy or sell a home

Consumer Action Law Centre is warning consumers about schemes which link up people who are desperate to sell their homes with people who are looking to buy but are unable to get a loan. 'These types...

Media release: Federal Court finds ACM Group’s misleading or deceptive conduct was ‘not just widespread, it was systemic’

A Federal Court ruling, which found debt collection agency ACM Group (and its predecessor Accounts Control Management Services) engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct as well as undue harassment...

Media release: Energy debate must address the real drivers of the unnecessary electricity price increases

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed comments made by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims warning that the energy reform debate must address the real drivers...

Media release: Superannuation Consumer Centre recognises the importance of independent advocacy

Working Australians will benefit from the Federal Government’s $10 million investment to establish a Superannuation Consumer Centre. The Consumer Action Law Centre said that the plan to establish a co...

Media release: New case to highlight consumer protections in second hand car market

A new case lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) highlights the Australian Consumer Law’s (ACL) ‘consumer guarantee’ provisions and their ability to deal with disputes ove...

Joint media release: Consumer groups fear small debts could lead to big problems for Australian consumers

This is a joint media release from Financial Counselling Australia, Australian Privacy Foundation, Australian Communication Consumer Action Network, Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW and Consumer Actio...

Media release: Landmark Federal Court decision a ringing endorsement of the Do Not Knock sticker

The Consumer Action Law Centre, creator of the Do Not Knock sticker and the organisation behind www.donotknock.org.au, has welcomed a Federal Court decision which found that salespeople who ignore vis...

Media release: Committee’s rejection of a Do Not Knock register can’t be the end of the debate

The Consumer Action Law Centre, the organisation behind the national ‘Do Not Knock campaign’, says a Federal Parliamentary committee's rejection of a private members bill designed to establish a do no...

Media release: Consumer Action welcomes High Court ruling on bank penalty fees

Consumer Action has welcomed today's High Court ruling which found that a number of different bank fees are capable of being considered unlawful penalties. The Centre, whose predecessor Consumer Law C...

Media release: Parliamentary inquiry told door-to-door sales cause consumer detriment and hinder competition

The organisation which invented the Do Not Knock sticker and is behind the national Do Not Knock campaign has made a submission to a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into the Do Not Knock Register Bill 2...

Media release: Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment Bill offers mixed bag for consumers

Consumer advocates today acknowledged the passing of the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012 (the Enhancements Bill) by the Australian Parliament, but were disappointed at t...

Media release: Bulk complaint made against Motor Finance Wizard to the Credit Ombudsman Service

The Consumer Action Law Centre has assisted consumers to lodge a bulk complaint against DTGV1 Pty Ltd (which trades as Motor Finance Wizard in Victoria). Gerard Brody, Director of Policy and Campaign...

Media release: New report shows why greater consumer protections are needed in payday lending

The Consumer Action Law Centre has written to the Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, and members of the Senate in a last ditch attempt to get vital consumer protections introduc...

Media release: Explore all your options before buying education software

The Consumer Action Law Centre regularly receives complaints about the in home sale of very expensive educational software and, sadly, many of these complaints come from families who have recently mig...

Media release: Do Not Knock campaign lodges 100 door-to-door selling complaints with ACCC

Over 100 complaints about door-to-door salespeople have now been lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) since the national Do Not Knock campaign was launched in November...

Media release: New report offers a snapshot of debt collection practices in the Victorian energy sector

A new report from the Consumer Action Law Centre gives an insight into the experiences of a number of Victorian energy consumers who had their energy debts passed onto external debt collectors. The pu...

Media release: Time to build new consumer protections from the bottom up

In its response to a Victorian Government consultation paper, Consumer Action urged the Government to take decisive action, arguing small reforms around the edges would do little to help consumers see...

Media release: Credit Enhancements Bill a ‘win’ for payday lenders

Consumer advocates and financial counsellors have lamented the lost opportunity to effectively protect vulnerable Australians from exploitative payday and short term loans. While pleased that the Gov...

Media release: Credit limit regulations so soft they’re almost redundant

The Consumer Action Law Centre has lamented that federal regulations designed to limit the harm caused by unsolicited credit limit increase offers have been watered down to the point where they are al...

Media release: Australians fed up with door-to-door sales urged to sign new petition

The Consumer Action Law Centre, tired of hearing stories of salespeople taking advantage of the vulnerable Australians, has launched a petition calling on Australia’s energy retailers to voluntarily e...

Media release: ‘Payment protection plan’ sold by The Cash Store offers borrower little protection

Consumer Action Law Centre and the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW have questioned whether it was appropriate for payday loan broker The Cash Store to sell a ‘payment protection plan’—a loan insuranc...

Media release: More door-to-door complaints sent to ACCC, but further protections needed

Another 26 complaints about door-to-door salespeople have been lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as part of the Consumer Action Law Centre’s Do Not Knock Campaign....

Media release: ATM Taskforce delivers for remote communities, but more needs to be done

The Federal Government’s ATM Taskforce has delivered a mixed bag for consumers in its reports on transparency and competition according to the Consumer Action Law Centre. The Centre lauded moves to ab...

Media release: Punk Jobs ordered to refund $1150 to unhappy job seeker

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has ordered Punk Jobs to repay $1150 to a dissatisfied customer who alleged he was mislead and that Punk Jobs failed to deliver promised services...

Media release: Linked credit case could cast doubt on more NAB student loans

The Consumer Action Law Centre has lodged a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) against the National Australia Bank (NAB) and is seeking to have its client’s NAB student loan terminat...

Media release: New consumer guide released – common problems in private colleges and training institutions

Common themes emerging in consumer complaints about some private colleges and training institutions has prompted the Consumer Action Law Centre to publish a guide about common problems, how to avoid t...

Media release: Revised payday lending Bill puts profits before people

The Consumer Action Law Centre has condemned the Federal Government’s proposed amendments to its Credit Enhancements Bill, calling them a cave in to industry lobbying and lamenting a lost opportunity...

Media release: Consumer action calls on Energy Market Commission to ease energy bills by proceeding with rule-change

In a submission lodged today, the Consumer Action Law Centre called for the Australian Energy Market Commission to proceed with an energy rule change that would put downward pressure on household ener...

Media release: Retirement village contracts confusing for consumers, says consumer group

The Consumer Action Law Centre says a case in which it is assisting an elderly retirement village resident with her dispute before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) demonstrates t...

Media release: Energy retailers urged to end to door-to-door sales

The Consumer Action Law Centre has challenged Australia's energy retailers to put an end to door-to-door energy sales. The Centre issued the challenge on the back of new research showing 77 percent of...

Media release: Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes clarification of legal position of Do Not Knock sticker

The Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the proceedings initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against three energy retailers and their marketing companies in relation to...

Media release: Consumer and welfare groups make eleventh hour bid to protect vulnerable Victorians

A group comprising consumer advocates and welfare agencies has made an eleventh hour plea to members of the Victorian Upper House, urging them to amend a bill which would allow metropolitan water busi...

Media release: Consumer group says Cash Converters’ process need formal investigation

The Consumer Action Law Centre has asked the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to undertake a formal investigation into the internal dispute resolution processes of Cash Converter...

Media release: Ombudsman asked to consider lending practices of payday loan provider

Consumer Action is lodging another dispute against a high profile payday loan provider. The most recent dispute, being lodged on behalf of Ms Jane Bowyer with the Credit Ombudsman Service, alleges The...

Media release: Consumers the losers as competition tribunal sides with power companies – yet again

Victorian households are staring down the barrel of yet another electricity price hike after the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT) overturned significant aspects of the ruling of the energy indust...

Media release: VCAT cases will put Victoria’s new debt collection laws to the test

In what are believed to be two of the first cases to test Victoria's new ‘prohibited debt collection practices’, the Consumer Action Law Centre is helping two clients pursue legal cases against debt c...

Media release: Community lawyers claim The Cash Store’s holiday marketing is irresponsible

A new advertisement from one of Australia’s leading payday loan brokers, The Cash Store, has raised the ire of two community legal centres, who fear the advert may result in many Victorian’s entering...

Media release: Hire car insurance is not what it seems, in fact, it’s often not insurance at all

As many Victorians head off on holidays, the Consumer Action Law Centre is warning consumers that hire car 'insurance' is not what seems. Indeed, it’s often not insurance at all but, rather, an indemn...

Media release: Contracting competition in the energy retail market results in lacklustre performance

A new report showing three leading energy retailers control almost 75 per cent of market share is bad news for Victorian households which are missing out on the financial benefits and service improvem...

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...

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