Consumer Guarantees and Warranties - Consumer Action Law Centre

Our impact 2023-24: Fighting for a fairer marketplace in a cost-of-living crisis

We are delighted to publish our Impact Report 2023-24 which highlights what we’ve been doing over the past year working alongside consumers, national advocates and cross-sector stakeholders. The co...

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Stronger consumer protections needed to make our marketplace fairer

The two major consumer protections announced today -the ban on unfair trading and consultation on penalties for breaches by traders and service providers of the consumer guarantees under the Australia...

Telcos still not connecting with Aussies -especially those most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis

The latest figures released in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) 2023 Annual report show that the nation’s telcos are still not providing an acceptable standard of service in many key...

REPORT: Insurers must lift their game and handle customer claims better especially for vulnerable consumers

A new Report from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Navigating the storm: ASIC's review of home insurance claims (LINK) calls on Australia’s insurers to step up and improve r...

Banning telemarketing under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program

We strongly support the Minister’s intention to introduce a ban on telemarketing within the VEU program. We have long advocated for bans on telemarketing (as well as doorknocking) as inherently probl...

Token crypto mapping consultation paper and the need for adequate protections and safeguards

The crypto marketplace currently poses significant risk to consumers and there is a pressing need for adequate protections and safeguards. Consumer Action applauds the Government for its commitment...

Anti-avoidance provisions for credit product intervention orders

This is a joint submission made on behalf of: • Consumer Action Law Centre • Financial Rights Legal Centre • Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network • Financial Counselling Australia • WEstjusti...

‘A matter of urgency’: Community sector calls on Senate to pass the Financial Sector Reform Bill now

Community organisations that are part of the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance are urging the Senate not to further delay the Financial Sector Reform (FSR) Bill. The Bill needs to be passed as a matter of u...

ACMA Telstra direction reveals weak and worrying gaps in its powers to regulate telecommunications

Consumer advocates* are raising deep concerns about the ineffective framework for telco regulation in Australia following a direction from the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) to Telst...

Protecting consumers of distributed energy resources

With Victorians wanting to play their part in carbon reduction, consumer protections for new energy products and services need to be enhanced. This submission to the Department of Environment Land...

Embedded networks ban promotes consumer choice and is a win for Victorians

The announcement today from the Victorian Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio banning embedded networks in new residential apartment buildings, and improving protections for existing networks,...

Commit to a lemon car ombudsman in November election say consumer advocates

Consumer Action Law Centre and WEstJustice Western Community Legal Centre are calling on the Victorian Government to make a solid commitment, ahead of the upcoming Victorian election in November, to i...

US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Inquiry into Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) Providers

While there have always been various forms of instalment credit products in the marketplace, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a uniquely Australian invention, that has now been exported around the world....

OPINION: That lemon car sour taste just keeps getting worse

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action Law Centre A version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun today The pandemic has helped drive second-hand car prices up 50 percent...

Punish companies when they fail to give a repair, replacement or refund

Consumer Action, CHOICE, CCLSWA and WEstjustice are backing Treasury’s recent proposal to penalise businesses who don’t provide a repair, replacement or refund to a consumer when one is due. Fining bu...

Improving the effectiveness of the consumer guarantee and supplier indemnification provisions under the Australian Consumer Law

Consumers expect to purchase products that work, and when they don’t work people should be easily able to enforce their consumer guarantee rights. We welcome the opportunity to provide comments to...

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Payment difficulty framework implementation review: feedback on key review questions

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) has provided feedback on the Essential Services Commission’s key review questions as part of their review of the implementation of the energy payment diff...

Presentation to Parliamentary inquiry on improving corporate engagement with First Nations consumers

Consumer Action's Aboriginal Policy Officer Samantha Rudolph, and Director of Policy and Campaigns Katherine Temple spoke today at a Parliamentary Inquiry looking into ways of improving corporate enga...

Victorian Default Offer 2022

Consumer Action Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Essential Services Commission’s Draft Decision: Victorian Default Offer from 1 January 2022 (the draft decision). The draft dec...

Scam losses are increasing dramatically- what should be done?

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action As more and more people contact Consumer Action Law Centre regarding scam losses, and increasingly large losses, I've been thinking about the adequa...

Energy Assistance Report: Second Edition

This is Consumer Action Law Centre’s (Consumer Action) second Energy Assistance Report, following our previous report published in July 2019. The original report explored whether the introduction o...

Banks can do better: Consumer groups make more than 100 recommendations to improve bank behaviour

A coalition of the country’s leading consumer organisations is calling on Australia’s major banks to make significant updates to their industry code to improve outcomes for customers. The Consumers’ F...

Finance executives who break the law must be held to account

The Banking Royal Commission revealed that many decisions made by senior leaders of financial services firms have had a devastating impact on people across Australia. Their conduct has driven many mem...

Consumer leases must not be excluded from Government’s design and distribution obligations regime

Consumer Action has today written to the Treasury noting that the Government intends to make amendments to the design and distribution obligations (DDO) regime. The letter strongly urges the Govern...

Our response to the Right to Repair Inquiry Draft Report

We strongly support recommendations to address the main barriers to accessing repairs and other remedies through consumer guarantees. These barriers would be reduced through the introduction of altern...

Fairness, respect, reflection, courage: Our strategic plan 2021-25

Our strategic plan 2021-2025 is a snapshot of our priorities and ambitions for the next four years. We use our skills and knowledge in the law, financial counselling, policy, campaigning, and advoc...

The 2021 Water Price Review –Melbourne Water Draft Decision

Access to water is a basic human right. All Victorians are entitled to a supply of water necessary for an adequate standard of living. Fundamental to this is that water services remain affordable for...

Implementing the Royal Commission recommendations: The deferred sales model for add-on insurance

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) broadly support the content of the draft regulatory guide for the industry-wide direct sales model (DS...

Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority

Contributors to this submission have supported and represented thousands of people in disputes with financial services providers and superannuation funds over many years. This includes extensive exper...

Australian Communications Media Authority compliance priorities

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) and WEstjustice welcome the opportunity to contribute to the development of ACMA compliance priorities for 2021 –2022, hence our submission. The past ye...

Licensing debt management firms: Exposure draft regulations

While some businesses stepped up to help Australians to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, others have simply sought to profit from people’s desperate financial circumstances. Debt management firms(...

REPORT: Telcos miss the mark on hardship support during COVID, time to treat them as an essential service

A new report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Customer financial hardship in the telco industry reveals stark variations in hardship support offered during the COVID-19 cris...

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management

Federal Court finds multiple breaches of Australian Consumer Law in relation to credit repair, but not debt management The Federal Court has found that J Daniels & Associates (JDA), a debt mana...

We support enhanced protections for South Australians from payday loans and high-cost leases

Consumer Action has provided a submission on the draft Fair Trading (Small Amount Credit Contracts and Consumer Leases) Amendment Bill 2020 (SA) (the SA Bill). Consumer Action strongly supports the...

Consumer groups welcome South Australian crackdown on predatory lenders

Consumer groups have applauded the South Australian government’s plans to crackdown on payday lenders and consumer lease providers. The government’s proposed laws would introduce important consumer pr...

Report misses the mark on buy now pay later regulation

The Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology has published its Interim Report. Consumer groups say the Interim Report has missed the mark on its recommendation encoura...

$28 million of junk add-on insurance claims and counting… ASIC must act now to fix junk insurance

Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice have made a submission to the corporate regulator urging a crackdown on junk insurance sales in car yards. The submission c...

The sale of add-on financial products through car yard intermediaries

Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre and WEstjustice have made a submission to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Consultation – Product intervention: The...

Submission: New Car Retailing Industry ACCC Draft Report

Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) is pleased to make this submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) new car retail industry market study draft report (the Draf...

Junk warranties: Your time is up

Consumer Action Law Centre says a class action to be launched against Australia’s biggest extended car warranty company shows rubbish warranties have had their day. International law firm Quinn Ema...

“Car yards should be ashamed”: tips on avoiding car yard shonks

Consumer Action Law Centre is warning Australians about the behaviour of car yard shonks following an ASIC action refunding $400,000 to a group of NSW car buyers who were forced to purchase warran...

Junk insurance victims fight back as ASIC report damns industry

Australians sold junk insurance are demanding their money back as ASIC releases a damning report into the atrocious value and shocking sales practices at car yards. The ASIC “A market that is faili...

Australians urged to fight back against junk insurance and demand over $70m in refunds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLFnf30Qu6k Australians could be due for over $70m* worth of refunds each year for insurance and warranty products they don’t even know they’ve bought. The latest...

The common car product you might get a refund for

Australians are demanding better from the products sold with used cars and winning. Sarah from Melbourne’s south east thought she had to buy an extended warranty in order to get a loan. Consumer Ac...

Used car warranties: Phil’s story

Phil* bought a used car as a gift for his granddaughter in October 2014. He also bought a motor vehicle warranty from National Warranty Company. Phil paid $4500 for the car and $295 for the warranty....

Used car warranties: Christian’s story

Christian (name changed) bought a second hand car in late 2014. He had had gearbox trouble with a previous car which cost him a lot of money, so when he noticed advertising for National Warranty Compa...

“Almost completely worthless” – used car warranties catching out countless Australians

Bought a second hand car? There’s a good chance you’ve been offered an extended warranty. A Consumer Action investigation has found that warranty providers can avoid paying many if not most claims pur...

Junk Insurance and Rubbish Warranties

You might have bought something useless and don’t even know it. If you’ve purchased a used car or taken out a credit card or loan, you may have paid for some junk insurance or a rubbish warranty that...

Media release: Dozo car sales ordered to pay $2,150 after breaching consumer guarantees

Dozo Car Sales has been ordered to pay $2,150 to a vulnerable consumer after it refused, within a reasonable time, to provide a refund on a defective car and, instead, bought it back at a reduced pric...

Consumer Affairs asked to investigate National Warranty Company

The National Warranty Company (NWC) sells warranty products to people buying new and used motor vehicles. But Consumer Action recently had concerns about a NWC 'Grand Warranty Plan' provided in 2012 a...

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