News - Consumer Action Law Centre

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...

Submission: “Reconnecting the Customer”- ACMA public inquiry consultation paper

Customer service is extremely poor in the Australian telecommunications industry, and has been for many years. Misleading advertising, unfair contract terms and deceptive sales practices are so common...

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 -...

Report: Payday Loans–Helping hand or quicksand?”

To read the report please click here Annexure A - Click here to receive Consumer Action Online Survey Results Annexure B - Draft Literature Review...

Policy report: An examination of high-cost short term lending in Australia, 2002-2010

Consumer Action Law Centre and senior policy officer Zac Gillam have reviewed the experience of payday loan borrowers by updating empirical research into the impact of high-cost short term lending in...

Presentation: Protecting Consumers of Legal Services (Conference of Regulatory Officers 2010)

A presentation by Carolyn Bond, Co-CEO of Consumer Action, to the 2010 (CORO) Conference of Regulatory Officers on 27 August 2010. To read the presentation, please click here....

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...

Submission: Australian Energy Regulator’s Victorian Draft Distribution Determination 2011- 2015

Consumer Action strongly supports the Draft Decision and the level of scrutiny the AER has applied to the Distribution Network Service Providers' regulatory proposals. We continue to have some concern...

Joint submission: National Legal Profession Reform

This submission considers the proposed regulation from the viewpoint of individual, small business and community organisations as clients. This is a once in a generation opportunity for significant r...

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...

Presentation: National Credit Code

This document is a resource tool for community lawyers and financial counsellors. It contains helpful information on the operation of the new National Credit Code. To read the presentation, please cl...

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...

Submission: Unfair terms in insurance contracts – options paper

Consumer Action thanks the Government for seeking stakeholder input on addressing unfair terms in insurance contracts, facilitated by the publication of the Unfair terms in insurance contracts - Optio...

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...

Submission: Financial Services Working Group – Corporations Amendment Regulations 2009

Consumer Action is a strong supporter of the objectives of the Financial Services Working Group in endeavouring to make financial services product disclosure simpler and more meaningful for consumers,...

Policy report: An analysis of the psychology of in-home sales of educational software

Consumer Action in conjunction with Dr Paul Harrison, Centre for Sustainable and Responsible Organisations, Deakin University, Marta Massi, School of Marketing and Communication, Lumsa University (Rom...

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...

Media release: Distributors ask to add average 14% to consumers’ electricity bills

Consumer Action Law Centre has made a submission to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) after Victoria’s five electricity distributors provided forecasts estimating they would need Victorian custome...

Submission: Exposure draft – Review of initial distribution network service providers’ proposals for the 2011 – 2015 regulatory period.

Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Australian Energy Regulator's review of initial Distribution Network Service Providers' Proposals for the 2011 - 2015 Regulatory Pe...

Media release: Fire insurance debate reignites as anniversary approaches

Almost a year after the Black Saturday bushfires devastated Victoria, consumer groups have hit back at the insurance industry’s attempts to pressure the Government into eliminating the fire services l...

Media release: Consumer Action Law Centre warns the public about telephone scam falsely using its name

Consumer Action Law Centre warns the public that scammers are continuing to contact people falsely claiming to be an employee or representative of Consumer Action. Carolyn Bond, Consumer Action co-CE...

Submission: Action against fraudulent phoenix activity – Commonwealth Government proposals paper

Whilst Consumer Action generally agrees with the proposition in the Proposals Paper – that the underlying distinction between illegitimate, or phoenix activity and a legitimate use of the corporate fo...

Media release: Collection Point misleads client and sues his lawyers

Consumer Action Law Centre has succeeded in a Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT) action against money retrieval agency, Collection Point, and recovered the sum of $1,108.85 for one of its...

Submission: Response to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Fire Services Levy and Insurance Discussion Paper

We welcome the opportunity to provide comment to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in response to its Discussion Paper on the fire services levy and insurance. This submission is made joi...

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