Consumer groups have welcomed a crackdown on debt vultures by National Australia Bank (NAB). In a statement today, NAB says it will no longer deal with unlicensed debt management providers. Consumer organisations commonly describe these businesses as “debt vultures” because of the harm they cause. Debt vultures target people concerned about bills, home repossession or the confusing credit reporting system. [ More ]
Consumer groups are extremely disappointed in ASIC’s decision not to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision in the Westpac case to the High Court of Australia.[1] The Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights), Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), CHOICE and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) had supported the view, also enunciated by Commissioner Hayne in the Banking Royal Commission, that [ More ]
A coalition of consumer advocacy groups is calling on the Federal Government to urgently implement much-needed reforms to the insurance industry as recommended by the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (the Royal Commission). “These reforms must be implemented without delay as they will make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Australians [ More ]
Today the Federal Court has dismissed an application by predatory lender Cigno to overturn the financial regulator’s ban on its exploitative lending model. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) took swift action in September 2019 using its new product intervention powers to shut down the high cost lending model, which was causing widespread detriment in the community. Consumer groups have [ More ]
Consumer groups welcome the announcement by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) that bank customers applying for payment deferrals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will not have a missed payment or hardship flag appear on their credit file. Importantly, this approach will apply across the board to all consumer debt, including mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. Consumer advocacy organisations and banks [ More ]
