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CFA’s quarterly webinar series will continue on Friday 14th June from 2-3pm AEST. The webinar will be hosted by Gerard Brody, CFA Chair and CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre, and Gemma Mitchell, Managing Solicitor at Consumer Credit Legal Service WA. Gerard and Gemma will share reflections and insights from their recent travels to Portugal for the Consumers International Summit, which…
Read More CFA Webinar Series
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Mobile handsets continue to be the most common way consumers are accessing the internet while the largest volume of data is downloaded over fixed lines, as shown in a new ACCC data report on internet activity. The report, for the period ending 31 December 2018, also provides information on the number of retail services in operation…
Read More New report tracks internet activity on mobile and fixed lines
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Eleven telcos have been hit with formal warnings by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for failing to tell potential new customers that they do not provide Priority Assistance (PA) services, or failing to name a telco that does. The eleven telcos are Activ8me, Aussie Broadband, Dodo, Exetel, Foxtel, MyRepublic, Skymesh, Southern Phone, Spintel, TPG, and V4 Telecom.…
Read More Telcos warned for not helping vulnerable consumers
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Australians lost almost half a billion dollars to scammers in 2018 according to the latest figures in the ACCC’s Targeting Scams report released today. “Total combined losses reported to Scamwatch and other government agencies exceeded $489 million – $149 million more than 2017,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. “And these record losses are likely just the tip…
Read More Scams cost Australians half a billion dollars
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CFA and several member organisations have made written submissions to the federal government’s review of the grocery industry unit pricing mandatory Code of Conduct administered by the ACCC. The Code requires most very large grocery stores and online grocery retailers to display on shelf labels, etc. the price per unit of measure of grocery products…
Read More CFA and members make submissions to review of federal unit pricing regulationThe Federal Government has committed to a process to fund a superannuation consumer advocate in Tuesday night’s budget. Independent consumer groups CHOICE and the Superannuation Consumers Centre (SCC) have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement to scope the permanent funding of a Superannuation Consumer Advocate but say this needs to be backed by a substantial long-term…
Read More Budget backing for superannuation consumer advocate
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Labor will make the Australian economy fairer and more competitive by raising the penalties for competition and consumer breaches to levels in line with other advanced nations. In recent years, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has brought cases against a veritable who’s who of major firms. Telstra was fined for misleading consumers about…
Read More Labor proposes to increase penalties for competition law contraventions if elected
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The Morrison Government has issued a safety warning notice to the public regarding risks associated with button batteries. Button batteries, also known as coin cell batteries, are flat, round, single cell batteries, used in a broad range of personal and household products such as children’s toys, hearing aids, watches, remote controls, digital thermometers and bathroom…
Read More Coalition issues button battery safety alert
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The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have released a series of publications and an online tool allowing policyholders – for the first time – to compare life insurers’ performance in handling claims and disputes. The joint project is the culmination of more than two years of work…
Read More APRA and ASIC publish world-leading life insurance data
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A new report released today by Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), shows that telco customer service representatives are being encouraged to focus on selling over service, potentially exposing consumers to questionable selling practices. The Spotlight on Telco Commissions and Targets exploratory report was commissioned following a number of…
Read More ACCAN shines a light on telco sales practices in new report
L-R: ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard, CFA Deputy Chair Gordon Renouf and Lauren Levin
The CFA Prize for Consumer Advocacy is awarded annually at the ACCC National Consumer Congress. Now in its second year, the prize is open to any consumer advocate or advocacy organisation who has conducted consumer advocacy during the previous year. This year, the judging panel consisted of Gail Pearson, Gordon Renouf and Delia Rickard. Entries were judged on the following…
Read More 2019 CFA Advocacy Prizewinner announced
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Gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers. Scamwatch reports show more than $5 million was lost in 2018, a 38 per cent increase compared with 2017. iTunes cards accounted for $3.1 million in losses – a 156 per cent increase from the $1.23 million reported in 2017. However Scamwatch has also…
Read More Payment demanded by gift card? It’s a scam