Victorian Current Acts

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW AND FAIR TRADING ACT 2012 - SECT 52

    (1)     A debt collector must not recover, or attempt to recover, from a debtor any remuneration or payment in connection with the collection of a debt including the costs and expenses of a debt collector for—

        (a)     finding or attempting to find goods or chattels of the debtor;

        (b)     repossessing or attempting to repossess goods or chattels from the debtor;

        (c)     collecting or attempting to collect a debt owed by the debtor.

Penalty:     120 penalty units.

    (2)     Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a debt collector who is recovering or attempting to recover on behalf of a creditor enforcement expenses reasonably incurred by that creditor—

        (a)     if a credit contract allows the recovery of those expenses; or

Note

See section 107 of the National Credit Code.

        (b)     in the case of a debt that was not wholly or predominately accrued in connection with personal, domestic or household purposes, if a term of an agreement between the creditor and the debtor permits the recovery of those expenses.

    (3)     It is a defence for an offence against subsection (1) that the debt collector had an honest and reasonable belief that the enforcement expenses that he or she was recovering or attempting to recover did not exceed those reasonably incurred by the creditor.

    (4)     Any costs or expenses recovered in contravention of subsection (1)—

        (a)     may be recovered by the debtor as a debt; and

        (b)     if the debt collector is the creditor—

              (i)     may be set off against the debt; or

              (ii)     may be recovered by the debtor from the debt collector or the creditor.

    (5)     In this section—

"costs" do not include—

        (a)     stamp duty; or

        (b)     legal costs fixed by, or payable under, rules of court or a court order;

credit contract has the meaning given by section 4 of the National Credit Code;

"creditor" includes a partner, employer, employee, principal or agent of the creditor or a person who is in any way acting in collusion with the creditor;

"debt collector" means a person who engages in debt collection—

        (a)     as a principal or agent;

        (b)     as an employee of a principal or agent in exchange for salary, wages or commission;

"debtor" includes a person from whom goods or chattels may be lawfully repossessed.