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Consumer Protection Laws
In Australia, there are laws in place to protect consumers in relation to collection, namely, part IVA and V of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and part 2, division 2 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001. If you choose to pursue legally owed debts, you must be careful at all times not to infringe on your debtor's legal rights.
However, as a general guide , a debt collector SHOULD NOT:[1]
- Use physical force
- Use undue harassment or coercion
- Communicate with the debtor at any unusual time or place without their consent
- Contact the debtor at their workplace unless there is approval to do so, there are no alternative means of contact, or the debtor is the proprietor or director of a business to which the debt relates
- Stay near the debtor's location for an extended length of time for the purpose of intimidation, embarrassment or to create the impression of surveillance
- Make contact with the debtor more than is reasonable according to the circumstances
- Engage in misleading or deceptive conduct, such as false statements about the consequences of non-payment
In addition to this, a debt collector SHOULD:
- Communicate with the debtor after 7:30am or before 9pm
- Be discreet if contacting the debtor at work
- Consider a personal visit to the debtor if initial communication such as post and phone calls have not succeeded, without making more contact than necessary or remaining at the debtor's location for an extended period of time
- Alert staff and agents about their rights and responsibilities in collecting debts.
For detailed information regarding lawful debt collection practices, visit the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) website.
[1] List taken from Business Victoria
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