Consumer Action regularly receives complaints from consumers that are persistently contacted by debt collectors. In our experience, most debtors that contact our services have a genuine desire to repa...
Both cases will test the law which commenced at the start of 2011 which requires debt collectors to stop contacting a debtor once the debtor has requested in writing that it do so, unless the contact...
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...
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...
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...
Financial inclusion is not only about access to financial services, but protection from exploitative products that are inappropriate to consumers' needs. Over the last three years, we have campaigned...
Door-to-door salespeople often use high-pressure tactics to get people to buy products they don’t want, don’t need, and can’t afford. We’ve heard of cases where people have been deliberately misled, a...
A new report showing three leading energy retailers control almost 75 percent of market share is bad news for Victorian households which are missing out on the financial benefits and service improveme...
Submission supporting the draft Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2011, which will introduce a standard definition of flood and key facts sheets for consumer insurance contracts. To read our submiss...
In January 2011, the Australian Government introduced legal protections for consumers buying goods or services called ‘consumer guarantees’. Consumer Guarantees ensure that you can get a refund, repla...
In January 2011, the Australian Government introduced legal protections for consumers buying goods or services called ‘consumer guarantees’. Consumer Guarantees ensure that you can get a refund, repla...
The Australian Consumer Law came into effect on 1 January 2011. It harmonises consumer protection and fair trading legislation nationally, and introduces new national unfair contract terms protections...
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...
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...
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...
Submission on Consumer Affairs Victoria's discussion paper Retirement Villages: Contracts and Information Disclosure reports. To read the submission, please click here....
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...
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...
Submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria supporting harmonisation of Australian debt collection laws, and calling for stricter regulation of the debt collection industry. To read our submission, pleas...
Submission on the Australian Energy Market Commission's Consultation Paper; National Electricity Amendment (Economic Regulation of Network Service Providers) Rule 2011. To read our submission, please...
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...
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...
Joint consumer submission to a Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry on the Future of Financial Advice reforms. To read the joint submission, please click here. [PDF]...
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...
Consumer Action has supported a proposal by the Australian Communications and Media Authority to make 1800 numbers free from mobiles and 13 numbers the cost of a local call. To read our submission, p...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Consumer Action's comments to the Essential Services Commission in relation to proposed amendments to Guideline 19 - Energy Price and Products Disclosure. To read our submission, please click here....
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...
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...
Consumer Action has welcomed draft advertising guidelines for financial products and advice services prepared by ASIC. To read our submission, please click here....
Consumer Action has provided comment on two short discussion papers on the operation of recent consumer credit reforms. To read our submission, please click here....
Consumer Action contributed to a joint consumer submission on the second slice of the Future of Financial Advice reforms. To read our joint submission, please click here....
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...
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...
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...
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...
Consumer Action has provided a submission to this review of debt agreements undertaken by the Attorney-General's Department. The submission: argues for a minimum income threshold to access debt agre...
This submission responds to the Issues Paper released by the Australian Energy Market Commission on its demand side participation (stage 3) review, dubbed 'Power of Choice'. Read our submission click...
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,...
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...
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...
A new report released by the Consumer Action Law Centre and the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre, shows electricity distribution companies are routinely challenging pricing determinations made by th...
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...