financial hardship Archives - Page 7 of 10 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

5 February , 2024

Industry Liability the Clear Path to Scam Reform

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, have come out forcefully stating that customer reimbursement, paid for by industry through a customer’s own bank, must be at the centre of the Federal Government’s proposed new scam laws. The advocates say the new laws must be urgently implemented by the end of this year to stop the billions of dollars that are being lost by Australians every year to scammers.

2 February , 2024

ACCAN Open 2024 Grants Round

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has now opened its 2024 grants round, below is the overview also provided on ACCAN’s website here. 2024 Grants Round NOW OPEN Submit your application by: Friday 23rd February, 2024, 5pm AEDT. Contact Us: If you are thinking of applying, we encourage you to speak with us in advance.…

31 January , 2024

Consumer Advocates Call on Insurers to Act Now at Flood Insurance Inquiry

Consumer advocates call on insurers to act now at flood insurance inquiry

Urgent changes needed to improve claims handling process

A number of consumer advocacy groups – including CHOICE, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre, and Financial Counselling Australia – will be the first to appear today and tomorrow at a public hearing for the parliamentary inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

23 January , 2024

Employment and Side Hustle Scams on the Rise

Jobs and employment scams were the fastest growing scam type last year, with Australians reporting over 4,800 job scams to Scamwatch in 2023 leading to losses of $24.7 million, compared to $8.7 million in 2022.

Reports to Scamwatch show that these scams are disproportionally affecting younger Australians aged 18-44 years old, including students looking for part-time work. People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds including non-resident visa holders are also particularly at risk.

9 January , 2024

Ombudsman Warns of “Unsustainable” Increase as AFCA sees a Record 100,000 Complaints

“The volume of complaints escalated to AFCA has been increasing at an unsustainable rate,” David Locke, the Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), said.

“Scam-related complaints to AFCA have nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023. They continue to be of great concern to us. We are also seeing the impact of increased interest rates and cost of living pressures, with complaints involving financial hardship also significantly higher,” Mr Locke said.

5 January , 2024

ASIC Extends 2022 Product Intervention Orders on Credit

ASIC has extended its product intervention orders made in relation to short term credit and continuing credit contracts so that the orders remain in force until they are revoked or they sunset on 1 October 2032.
Since the orders came into effect on 15 July 2022, they have reinforced consumer protections by preventing the provision of short term credit and continuing credit contracts that involve unreasonably high fees. These fees exceeded the cost caps imposed by the National Credit Code.

19 December , 2023

Consumer Groups Call for New Passenger Rights for Flyers as Delays and Cancellations Continue

A new survey of almost 9000 supporters from consumer group CHOICE has found 40% of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the past 12 months.

“As we head into the Christmas season, a huge number of people will be relying on flights to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, our survey of almost 9000 people from across the country has found consumers still face a number of difficulties when dealing with the aviation industry,” says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor, Bea Sherwood.

19 December , 2023

Consumer Thoughts: 2023 Australian Consumer Survey Released

The 2023 Australian Consumer Survey has just been released and the figures are interesting, with a little over half of all purchases in Australia are now made online compared to 23% in 2016. The concerns of consumers also reflects this online trend as consumers making online international purchases are often unsure about the application of Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and as more and more people are targeted by, and are concerned about, scams.

18 December , 2023

Increase in Banks’ Breaches of Financial Difficulty Obligations

Despite a decline in breaches overall, the latest report from the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) shows a concerning increase in breaches of bank obligations to support customers facing financial difficulty.

The report, Compliance with the Banking Code of Practice for January to June 2023, notes that breaches of obligations for dealing with customers facing financial difficulty have increased by nearly 40%.

This comes amidst a 9% decline in overall breaches, signalling a welcome success in efforts to improve practices.

18 December , 2023

AFCA’s Approach to Responsible Lending

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has published its Responsible Lending Approach, documenting for financial firms and consumers the way it considers complaints in this area.

The Approach was developed in response to calls from stakeholders to provide greater clarity around AFCA’s existing approach and to ensure consistency in AFCA complaint outcomes in these complex areas.

13 December , 2023

2023 Rank the Banks (and Other Lenders) Released

Financial Counselling Australia, in conjunction with the state and territory financial counselling associations, released its bi-annual Rank the Banks (and Other Lenders) survey which found the big four banks performing well, but all other lenders failing their customers in financial hardship.

The survey collates the views of financial counsellors on how the banking industry and other lenders respond to customers in financial hardship. Undertaken in late September and October 2023, 431 financial counsellors responded from every Australian state and territory for a response rate of 42 per cent.

7 December , 2023

Telstra to Pay $24 million in Penalties and Refunds for Inaccurate Billing

Telstra has paid a $3,010,320 penalty and refunded over $17.7 million to thousands of customers after charging them for inactive internet services over an 11-year period. A further $3.4 million is to be refunded by the end of the year.

An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found that 6,532 customers, the majority of whom were small businesses, were wrongly billed by Telstra an average of around $2,600 between April 2012 and August 2023.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the ACMA has lost patience with Telstra after this series of significant billing errors.