Joint Submission: Future of financial advice reforms (Parliament)
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....
Media release: Report into consumer credit insurance exposes dirty tactics
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...
Media release: Payday lending practices challenged in court
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...
Media release: New website delivers the cold hard and sad facts about payday lending
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...
Media release: Unfair process leading to higher electricity prices
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...
Submission: Review of Debt Agreements Under the Bankruptcy Act 1966
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...
Submission: Australian Energy Market Commission’s Power of Choice Review, Issues Paper
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...
Media release: Government reforms offer a branch to consumers stuck in high cost short term lending quicksand
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,...
Media release: Complex energy contracts are confusing consumers and stifling choice
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...
Media release: Jobseekers should know that unpaid work is unlawful
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...
Policy report: Barriers to fair network prices
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...
Media release: ASIC grants licence to ‘misleading, deceptive and unconscionable’ trader
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...
Media release: New energy sales self-regulation scheme fundamentally flawed
Consumer Action Law Centre has today warned that a new self-regulatory approach for door-to-door sales of energy marketing is unlikely to reduce consumer detriment caused by widespread poor practices...
Submission: Taxi industry inquiry – complaints handling and dispute resolution
In this submission, Consumer Action responds to only one of the questions in the consultation paper - that is, ‘do the Victorian Taxi Directorate and taxi booking networks have adequate policies and p...
Media release: 400 per cent interest rates undermine ‘responsible lending laws’
Exorbitant effective interest rates on short term loans, upwards of 400 per cent, continue to put the pinch on vulnerable Australians despite the introduction of responsible lending laws in 2010. Mis...
Submission: Advanced metering infrastructure program – Issues paper for public consultation
Consumer Action welcomes the new Government's attempt to understand and address some of the underlying consumer concerns with the mandated rollout of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) or smart me...
Media release: Consumer groups urge cross benchers to support a ban on mortgage early exit fees
A coalition of consumer groups is urging Parliament’s cross-benchers to support the Government’s proposed ban on mortgage early exit fees, a ban which will improve competition amongst lenders and shin...
Joint submission: Reforming flood insurance – clearing the waters discussion paper
The following is a joint consumer submission in response to the Clearing the Waters discussion paper released by the Australian Government on 5 April 2011. The Brotherhood of St Laurence, Choice, Cons...
Joint submission: Reforming Flood Insurance – Clearing the Waters discussion paper
Consumer Action has contributed to a joint consumer submission in response to the Clearing the Waters discussion paper (the discussion paper) released by the Australian Government on 5 April 2011. The...
Media release: Legal tribunal finds Motor Finance Wizard’s practices ‘unfair’ and ‘seriously flawed
Motor car dealer and financier Motor Finance Wizard has been ordered to cancel a car lease contract with a vulnerable customer, refund her money and clear her credit report. The legal decision, made...
Policy report: A review of Victorian retail energy contract terms and conditions
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...
Submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry on Network Regulation
Consumer Action welcomes the Productivity Commission’s investigation into benchmarking as a means of achieving more efficient delivery of network services and electricity infrastructure. Benchmarking...
Direct Debits
Consumer Action has an ongoing interest in the use of Direct Debits and their impact on consumers. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences using Direct Debits as a payment method. If you ha...
Submission: Reserve Bank of Australia – Treasury ATM Taskforce consultations
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the RBA-Treasury ATM Taskforce's report on the March 2009 ATM reforms. The March 2009 reforms can be considered a broad success, both because...
Fair Fees Campaign
Since 2004 we have campaigned against unfair, excessive and unlawful penalty fees charged by Australian banks and other financial institutions. In recent years we have been very successful in getting...
Media release: Government’s insurance reforms challenge the insurance industry to step up
The Fair Go in Insurance coalition* welcomes the proposed insurance reform package put forward by the Federal Government today but warns that several reforms are not guaranteed and would be unlikely t...
Fair go in insurance
If anything positive can be drawn from the devastating natural disasters that hit many Australians in early 2011, it’s that the public and the government are starting to ask more questions about our i...
Media release: Dell backs down on contract terms that failed to compute
Consumer Action Law Centre has withdrawn proceedings against Dell Computer Pty Ltd in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on behalf of its co- CEO, Carolyn Bond after the company amended i...
Policy report: A snapshot of consumer experiences of short-term loans post the national consumer credit reforms
Exorbitant effective interest rates on short term loans, upwards of 400 per cent, continue to put the pinch on vulnerable Australians despite the introduction of responsible lending laws in 2010. Mis...
Submission: National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011 – exposure draft
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the exposure draft of the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011, setting out the proposed amendment to ban exit fees on...
Submission: Exposure Draft – National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the exposure draft of the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011, setting out the proposed amendment to ban exit fees on...
Media release: Let’s call a flood a flood and give Australians fair go in insurance
A twelve point plan released today by the country’s leading insurance law experts for households and consumers clearly sets out the current problems with insurance and their solutions, and puts the pr...
Media release: Consumer group takes on distributors to keep energy prices down
Consumer advocates are preparing to fight Victoria’s billion-dollar electricity distribution businesses in the Federal Court in a last ditch bid to prevent consumers feeling the pain of unfair electri...
Media release: Consumers must be given a fighting chance against rising electricity and gas bills
Consumer Action Law Centre says it’s time for the Victorian Government and its energy industry watchdog, the Essential Services Commission, to take real action to help consumers switch and save on the...
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...