Consumer rights
Analysis
Analysis
Fast-tracked ACCC complaints process set to better protect consumers
A similar system established in the UK has seen significant changes to the country’s banking system.
- by John Collett
Latest
Opinion
Streaming
Forgotten to unsubscribe? Our digital amnesia is costing us a fortune
Corporations have found a way not just to sell goods and services, but to profit from not selling them: from our forgetfulness, inertia and inattention.
- by Malcolm Knox
Consumer watchdog urged to step in on so-called ocean plastic
Some brands boast their products are made from recycled plastics dredged from the ocean. But there’s little to stop them using that label for plastics picked up on land.
- by Tracey Ferrier
Consumer watchdog wants more power to bust online ‘subscription traps’
Stock countdowns and deliberately confusing website designs are also in the sights of ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
- by Rachel Clun
What tenants can do if their landlord hikes the rent
Tenants are being hit with rising costs, with more pain expected to come. But there are steps renters can take when facing a rent increase.
- by Kate Burke
When living longer means getting no value for funeral insurance
Gill and Alan Brown have so far paid $21,500 for a $9500 benefit to cover the cost of each funeral. By their late 80s the couple may have shelled out $30,000 more.
- by Anna Patty
‘I want to keep my house’: Why Rachel is working extra shifts
Sydney nurse Rachel Barclay is one of an increasing number of Australians turning to financial counsellors for help.
- by Anna Patty
Qantas under pressure to scrap expiry date on $800m unused credit
Qantas is being urged by consumer and industry groups to extend the expiry date on flight credits for another 12 months or ditch the deadline altogether.
- by Jessica Yun
Would you pay $1000 to get off gas? Consumer dismay over disconnection cost
More consumers want to electrify their homes. But getting their gas permanently disconnected can be a confusing and expensive process.
- by Miki Perkins
Opinion
Qantas
For milk, trust the expiry date. Not so for your Qantas flight credit
Redeeming my credit for a cancelled flight proved harder than I expected. I see it as part of a corporate malaise: too much talk about values, too little about value.
- by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Sextortion and ‘very expensive heartbreak’: Beware Valentine’s Day scams, says ACCC
You might not see the damage of a well-orchestrated Valentine’s Day scam until many months later, according to Westpac head of fraud Benjamin Young.
- by Jessica Yun