AVCO Financial Services has been ordered to pay a civil penalty of $85,000 and costs of $5,000 by the Commercial Tribunal following breaches of the Credit Act.
The penalty relates to errors in a number of consumer credit contracts prior to 1997.
This penalty is in addition to a civil penalty of $319,250 awarded against the company earlier this year for other problems in credit contracts it wrote in Western Australia.
These earlier errors included Avco’s failure to disclose insurance commissions, failure to ensure customers signed their contracts and failure to disclose other fees and credit charges.
Consumer and Employment Protection Minister John Kobelke said unlike some other types of fines or penalties, the money Avco was ordered to pay would go to consumer credit advice.
"The funds will go towards supporting financial counselling services to consumers, legal advice about consumer credit or information about consumer credit," he said.
Avco is now owned by GE Consumer Finance.
