September 2012
Electricity prices continue to soar in Victoria, Essential Services Commission report reveals Herald Sun, 20 September 2012, Anne Wright Power shock: bills up 33% in five years The Age, 20 Septem...
Submission: Early Termination Fees under Consumer Leases
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on Treasury's discussion paper on early termination fees under consumer leases. In this submission: we welcome attempts to improve transparency an...
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...
Submission: Response to draft regulations to support the Consumer Credit Enhancements Bill 2012
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on Regulations to support provisions in the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012. Briefly, we have serious concerns about...
Submission: review of limited merits review discussion paper three
This submission responds to the Third Consultation Paper of the Expert Panel reviewing the Limited Merits Review regime for energy regulatory decisions. Read our submission: submission to Limited mer...
Consumer Action’s Policy and Campaigns Plan 2012-13
Consumer Action is a not-for-profit, independent community organisation, focused on advancing the interests of consumers. We advocate for more equitable outcomes for consumers, particularly those who...
Submission: Key facts sheets for home building and home contents insurance policies
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft Key Facts Sheets for home building and home contents insurance policies. Consumer Action continues to strongly support the introductio...
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...
Submission: ASIC Consultation Paper 178 and ASIC’s draft good practice guidance on advertising credit products and services
Consumer Action strongly supports draft Regulatory Guide 234. In particular we support ASIC's position that advertisements should give clear, accurate and balanced messages and allow consumers to make...
Joint submission: Allowance payments for jobseekers
Consumer Action and the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW welcomes the opportunity to comment on the inquiry into the adequacy of the allowance payment system and related issues. This submission respo...
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...
Submission: Parliamentary inquiry into Do Not Knock Register Bill
Consumer Action's submission to this inquiry argues that door-to-door sales causes widespread consumer detriment, hinders market competition, and that greater consumer protections are desperately need...
August 2012
Push for ban on door-to-door sales Herald Sun, 28 August 2012, Karina Barrymore Door-to-door sales in hot water again as Fair Work Ombudsman accuses company of underpaying workers Smatrcompany.co...
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...
Consumer Affairs Victoria issues warning about maths tutoring software
Consumer Affairs Victoria says parents of school children should be wary about aggressive selling methods of maths tutorial software. Some of these programs cost nearly $8000 and are marketed by sale...
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...
Submission: Review of grocery unit pricing
Consumer Action believes unit pricing is, and will continue to be, an appropriate regulatory mechanism and appears to create a number of direct and indirect benefits to consumers and competition, at r...
Submission: Reforming Contract Law
This submission in response to the Commonwealth Government's discussion paper on the scope to reform Australian contract law. The submission: highlights the significance of consumer contracting (wh...
Policy report: The pursuit of the impossible, consumer experience with external collection of retail energy debts
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...
July 2012
Home help has strings attached The Age, 25 July 2012, John Kavanagh Unpaid power bills going up The Age, 17 July 2012, Rachel Wells Avoid the stress zone on your home loan Sydney Morning Hera...
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...
Submission: Inquiry into the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012. Our submission concerns the changes relating to cre...
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...
Submission: Submission to the Victorian Government’s consultation on the domestic building consumer protection framework
Broadly, this submission: argues that the nature of domestic building transactions mean that specialised and strengthened consumer protections are required; recommends that the entire consumer prot...
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...
Private Colleges
Common themes emerging in consumer complaints about some private colleges and training institutions has prompted the Consumer Action to publish a guide about common problems, how to avoid them and wh...
Timeshare schemes
Consumer Action’s legal advice line regularly hears from consumers who have signed up for timeshare schemes - schemes which allow points or credits to be redeemed for holiday accommodation. We’ve hea...
Motor Finance Wizard
Consumer Action campaigns against unfair practices by car traders. We've received numerous consumer complaints about the practices of Motor Finance Wizard, including: Sales targeting towards low-inc...
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...
Submission: Barriers to effective climate change adaptation – the role of insurance
In this submission to the Productivity Commission's draft report on Barriers to Effective Climate Change Adaptation Consumer Action argues against the Commission's assessment that subsidising flood in...
June 2012
Thrifty moves for plastic users The Age, 27 June2012, Clancy Yeates Warning as banks try hard-sell approach to credit card customers Herald Sun, 19 June 2012, Karina Barrymore Millions of Aust...
Submission: Single pricing legislation – proposal to exempt restaurants and cafes
On 7 May 2012, the Hon. Michael O'Brien MP and the Hon. Anthony Roberts MP wrote to Consumer Action inviting it to comment on the proposal to exempt restaurants and cafes from national single pricing...
Submission: Response to Commonwealth Government discussion paper on reducing reliance on payday lending
This submission: Expresses significant concerns with the way the payday lending problem is framed in the discussion paper. In particular, we do not agree that high-cost short-term lending is a neces...
Working for a fairer energy market
Energy market reform Our work brings the consumer voice to the national energy market. Our advocacy draws on real consumer concerns —expressed through our casework services (legal and financial counse...
Advocating for vulnerable, low income debtors
Low-income debtors often get the worst deal when it comes to dealing with debt—inaccessible or weak hardship assistance, particularly for those in long-term hardship; misleading or severe debt collect...
What if I have been sued for a debt?
Key message Act quickly to get advice if you have been sued for a debt in the Magistrate’s Court of Victoria. The Magistrates Court Process If the amount owed is $100,000 or less, a creditor...
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....
Submission: Review of the Limited Merits Review Consultation Paper Two
Consumer Action’s response to the Review of Limited Merits Review Regime's Consultation Paper 2, Additional Statement of Issues and Questions. To read our submission please click here: Submission to...
Submission: Inquiry into the post-GFC banking sector
This submission makes the following brief points: that the development of an independent measure of the cost of bank funding (including offshore wholesale funding, and deposits), regularly reported...
Submission: Inquiry into the post-GFC banking sector
Rather than responding to each point of the Committee's terms of reference, this submission makes the following brief points: that the development of an independent measure of the cost of bank fundi...
Credit limit offers in the spotlight
We've all seen letters or messages from banks trying to entice us to increase our credit card limits. They come in a range or forms from Congratulations, you’ve been pre-approved, to Increase your cre...
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...
Submission: Productivity Commission’s Regulatory Impact Assessment benchmarking study
This submission argues that the Regulatory Impact Assessment process could be improved if government agencies had more guidance on how to assess the benefits of regulation and the less tangible impact...
May 2012
VicRoads ordered to court in parking case ABC Online, 30 May 2012, Sarah Farnsworth Credit limit offers in the spotlight Briefed: The Law Blog, Herald Sun, 28 May 2012, Gerard Brody Short-chan...
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...