Will consolidating my debts help?
Key message Get advice about all your options before: taking out a new loan to pay all your existing loans taking out a loan to consolidate your debt For free, independent and confidenti...
Can I get out of a contract to buy a car from a car trader? – your cooling-off rights
Key Messages: you can cancel a contract with a motor car trader in certain circumstances; act quickly and get advice about what your rights are. This fact sheet provides you informa...
How do I get more information about my loan?
Key points: If you are a borrower, mortgagor, or guarantor, under most consumer credit contracts the creditor is obliged by law to give you: your credit contract, mortgage, or guarantee; acco...
Cancelling a direct debit on a statement account
Key Message: You can cancel a direct debit from your bank account (not a credit card); Get advice about the consequences of not paying a debt before you stop payments. What is a direct debi...
Bank Fees Refund Scam
Use this Fact Sheet if: You have received an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be from Consumer Action or a similar organisation; AND They claimed that the bank has overcharged y...
Timeshare schemes
Key messages carefully consider what you are getting before you purchase an interest in a timeshare scheme; or there are a number of protections that may assist you if you think you have got a ba...
Debt collection – your right to stop contact
Key Message: A creditor or debt collector must not contact you about a debt if you tell them in writing not to contact you about the debt. However, the debt collector can make a genuine threat of...
Media release: Now’s our chance to extend unfair contract term laws to insurance
Consumer Action Law Centre and Insurance Law Service have welcomed the introduction of a bill into Federal Parliament that, if passed, will mean that unfair contract term laws will be extended to gene...
Media release: ASIC action exposes funeral insurance advertising tricks
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has blown the whistle on the funeral insurance industry’s advertising tricks by publicly airing concerns about the advertising of Hollard Fi...
Media release: Revised water plan welcomed by consumer advocates
Today’s announcement from the Essential Services Commission (ESC), which sets metropolitan water prices for the next five years, has been welcomed by two of Victoria’s leading consumer advocate organi...
What can I do if I am having difficulty paying my loan or lease payments?
Key points: if you cannot pay your loan or lease because you are in financial difficulty (hardship) you may have the right to have your payments reduced, or changed in some other way. this i...
Submission: Credit card surcharges and non-transparent transaction fees
Consumer Action Law has made a submission to the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council’s study into Credit Card Surcharges and Non-Transparent Transaction Fees. We believe the key problems i...
Media release: Do Not Knock campaign has another win
Consumer Action Law Centre’s Do Not Knock campaign notched up another win today, with Origin Energy announcing it will stop using door to door selling by 30 September 2013. Origin’s announcement comes...
Outsmart the Scammers during Fraud Week
Have you ever bought or sold something online, only to find that the person at the other end isn’t the real deal? National Consumer Fraud Week 2013 is all about outsmarting scammers online by learnin...
Submission: Review of the Benchmarks for Industry-based Customer Dispute Resolution Schemes
Consumer Action has made a submission to the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council review of the benchmarks for industry dispute resolution schemes. In broad terms, we strongly support the b...
June 2013
Doorknocking sales to get ditched by Origin Energy Herald Sun, 19 June 2013, Karen Collier Origin stops door-to-door sales ABC Online, 19 June 2013, Amy Bainbridge Origin scraps door-to-door sales T...
Submission: Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts Amendment (Unfair Terms) Bill 2013
Consumer Action, the Insurance Law Service and Legal Aid New South Wales are broadly very supportive of the Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts Amendment (Unfair Terms) Bill 2013. Unfair contract term...
Media release: Financial Counselling groups welcome banks’ new hardship package
Financial Counselling Australia, the Consumer Action Law Centre and the Consumer Credit Legal Centre have welcomed a new hardship package released by the Australian Bankers Association (ABA) today. T...