The Consumer Credit Legal Centre has made a submission to the Commonwealth Treasury on regulation of consumer leases. The CCLC strongly agrees with the Treasury that the lease provisions in the Credit Act are now out of date in relation to the common use of leases. The decision in the original Consumer Credit Code to enact separate and less effective provisions for leases meant that the consumer lease industry developed business strategies to avoid the tougher protections for credit contracts. Currently, many consumers are in contracts that do not reflect the intention of the parties, with leases being sold as indistinguishable from loans but the consumer has no right to own the goods in the contract. Further, these contracts can be deceptively expensive.
Our submission recommends:
