Finance

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People will be hundreds of thousands of dollars worse off in retirement if the Federal Government doesn’t act now to stop the superannuation sector eroding savings. Today the Productivity Commission has released its plan to reverse the outdated structure that has led to poor performing funds, multiple accounts and zombie insurance policies. Fixing these problems…

Read More Advocates call for changes to superannuation sector

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Today ASIC has released Report 604  Credit card lending in Australia – An update (REP 604), which sets out the changes being made by lenders to help consumers with credit card debt. In July 2018, ASIC released Report 580 Credit card lending in Australia (REP 580), which found more than one in six consumers is struggling with credit card debt. The…

Read More Lenders commit to improve credit card practices following ASIC review

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Financial institutions who subscribe to a Code of Practice have obligations to consumers experiencing financial difficulty. The independent committees who monitor the Codes urge consumers to also be aware of these obligations. In 2018, financial difficulty was a particular focus of the committees, especially in the banking sphere where an inquiry found that customer requests…

Read More Codes of Practice and financial difficulty

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Our health system should empower and support us to live happy and healthy lives. But increasingly, thousands of us are feeling frustrated by high-cost, low-value and overly complex health insurance policies. CHOICE research finds the majority of us don’t feel like we get value from our health insurance and are hit with high costs when…

Read More Fairer health insurance

Banks breached their Code of Banking Practice 10,123 times in 2017–18, according to a Banking Code Compliance Monitoring Committee (CCMC) report released today. The CCMC said these self-reported breaches of the Banking Code affected more than 3.4 million people, costing them more than $95 million. However, these impacts are likely to be significantly understated. The number…

Read More Banks’ compliance, monitoring and reporting deficient, report finds

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ASIC has released its first review of the rapidly growing buy now pay later industry. The review of this diverse and evolving market has found that buy now pay later arrangements are influencing the spending habits of consumers, especially younger consumers. A buy now pay later arrangement allows consumers to purchase and obtain goods and…

Read More ASIC puts spotlight on the rapidly growing buy now pay later industry

The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) released its Annual Compliance Report today. A copy can be downloaded here. The Committee welcomes an increase in self reporting of breaches of the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code). However, many of those who subscribe to the Code still have work to do to achieve good…

Read More Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee releases Annual Report 

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The following is a guest post by The Code Compliance and Monitoring team, a separately operated and funded business unit of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Unfair treatment of customers by institutions has been under the spotlight at the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Beyond the Commission, however, consumer protection…

Read More Codes of Practice – Consumers benefit

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The Federal Government is letting the worst and most harmful financial products in the community run wild, according to consumer advocates. It’s now one year, eight months, one week and fifteen days since the Government accepted recommendations to reform laws governing payday loans and consumer leases. Despite committing to bringing the reforms to Parliament by…

Read More Lobbyists beat the battlers on payday loans and rent-to-buy