It is alleged energy companies deducted money from welfare payments of people, including Indigenous Australians, who were no longer customers
The ACCC has called for greater policing of Centrepay, a service for people receiving Centrelink payments which makes automatic deductions.The ACCC has called for greater policing of Centrepay, a service for people receiving Centrelink payments which makes automatic deductions.
The corporate regulator is investigating dozens of companies. At least four that it has already penalised remain on the system. “A robust compliance framework is particularly important, as the ACCC considers that some consumers, including those experiencing vulnerability, may be reluctant to complain about the conduct of Centrepay businesses for fear of losing access to the service,” Lowe said.over the high rate of non-compliance among the small number of Centrepay-approved businesses investigated by Services Australia.
In some cases, energy companies were continuing to deduct money from the welfare payments of people who were no longer customers. In others, they were changing Centrepay deduction amounts without telling the customer, which reduced their welfare payment without warning.
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