The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched a month-long campaign to warn consumers about companies that claim they can fix a poor credit rating.
The campaign, which also involves other Commonwealth, State and Territory Agencies, will inform consumers that by using credit repair and debt management firms they may end up paying high fees.
Deputy Chair of ASIC, Peter Kell said the companies concerned often failed to fix credit and debt issues, leaving people in a worse financial situation.
“Consumers may not realise that free services exist to help them fix credit reports or resolve their debt problems, such as the National Debt Helpline,” Mr Kell said.
“Consumers experiencing money or debt problems do not need to put themselves under further financial stress by paying high fees to firms providing credit repair and debt solution services.”
He said if people were having difficulty obtaining loans because of an incorrect default listing on their credit report, there were actions they could take to have it corrected that were free of charge.
He said the first step was to contact the creditor and ask for the default listing to be removed.
“If you aren’t satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the relevant dispute resolution service for help,” Mr Kell said.
He said consumers could consider alternative services, like financial counselling, before engaging a debt solutions firm.
