Car finance warning
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Automotive Financial Services Pty Limited (AFS) in relation to one of its products known as the 'Credit Protection Waiver Program'.
AFS is a credit provider offering finance to consumers for the purchase of motor vehicles. From July 1997 to October 2001, AFS also offered consumers the Credit Protection Waiver Program (the Program), which allowed consumers who purchased the Program to apply to have their loan repayments waived if they became disabled or unemployed, or died.
ASIC came to the view that the Program was an insurance policy, and that purchasers were therefore entitled to greater consumer protection in relation to it. AFS did not accept that the Program was an insurance policy.
'The undertaking ensures that consumers who purchased the Program will be protected by having the same rights as consumers who deal with insurance companies, such as access to independent dispute resolution. It will also ensure consumers have the protections of the Insurance Contracts Act', ASIC's Executive Director of Consumer Protection, Mr Peter Kell said.
The Insurance Contracts Act prevent insurers from denying claims where this would be unfair, such as in cases where there are unusual terms in the insurance policy that have not been disclosed or where a particular term operates unfairly.um. |
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Seniors wise up to consumer rights
Older Victorians are a market force that retailers and service providers cannot afford to ignore, says Minister for Senior Victorians Christine Campbell.
Speaking at a Consumer Wise Ministerial Round Table for Older People, Ms Campbell said an increasing awareness of the importance of senior consumers by business also meant that older people also needed to be aware of unscrupulous business operators and their consumer rights.
‘Over 55s account for 21 per cent of Australia’s population but head up households that own 39 per cent of the nation’s household wealth, 54 per cent of our financial assets and 25 per cent of all disposable income.
‘Most seniors have more time and money than at any other stage of their life and have a greater discretionary income.
‘Current trends suggest that seniors are more likely to spend on luxury items, travel and recreation.
‘However, there are also many senior Victorians on low incomes whose financial independence actually decreases with age.
‘Their financial security can be compromised by unscrupulous businesses, scams and ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes.’
Ms Campbell said fraud was the most common crime perpetrated against older people.
Among people aged over 65, consumer fraud is 2.2 times more frequent than assault, 2.4 times more frequent than theft and 13 times more frequent than robbery. |
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New survey reveals continued consumer intolerance with ecommerce failures The results of a newly released US consumer survey reflect growing frustration amongst consumers from poorly functioning retail websites.
Commissioned by Tealeaf, a US specialist in Customer Experience Management software solutions, and conducted by Harris Interactive, the survey reveals waves of consumer frustration with issues they are encountering when using ecommerce websites.
For the third consecutive year, about nine out of 10 consumers conducting transactions online (87%) have experienced problems. This year's survey highlights online consumer intolerance, as 42% of those who have experienced problems when conducting online transactions have switched to a competitor or abandoned the transaction entirely, and another 52% who have experienced bad customer service from a company's contact centre, following an online issue, have completely stopped doing business with the company.
eCommerce continues to grow - Forrester Research estimates 2007 online retail sales at US$157.4 billion and expects this number to grow to $271.6 billion (or 9% of retail sales overall) by 2011 ("US Retail eCommerce Forecast", Forrester Research, Inc., 2006-2011, May 2007).
But, this growth camouflages underlying issues. |
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