Asic has alleged in a statement of claim that a Rent4Keeps subsidiary overcharged customers an average of $2,400.Asic has alleged in a statement of claim that a Rent4Keeps subsidiary overcharged customers an average of $2,400.The corporate regulator has launched legal action against two companies it has accused of charging excessive interest rates on loans taken out by vulnerable people to buy household essentials, including washing machines and mobile phones.
“What what these parties are effectively charging their customers is … 267%, 400% and 600%,” she said. She said the rent-to-buy model was targeted at people on low incomes, including those on Centrelink benefits, and people in Indigenous communities. Mark Holden, a solicitor with Indigenous legal service program Mob Strong, said “First Nations communities are often targeted by consumer lease companies who go door-to-door or set up shop in remote communities, sign vulnerable people up through their Centrelink payments and then collect payments that are often many times the market price of the goods.