Consumer rights are often not identified by the person they affect - the consumer!
The Office of Fair Trading, Australian Securities and Investment Commission and Legal Aid Queensland have very useful information available to help you identify and protect yourself across a range of topics. These include:

• Scams and fraud (ASIC, Office of Fair Trading)
• Unjust contracts (Legal Aid Queensland)

As a consumer you have some basic rights when you buy goods and services. If you are not happy with goods or services you have purchased, you are able to make a complaint. Information to assist you with making a complaint can be found by visiting the complaints section on the Legal Aid website.

The following links provide legal information specific to particular situations.

• Buying goods and services
• Electricity and gas accounts 
• Superannuation and insurance 
• Buying a car 
• Car accidents 
• Financial products or services
• Mobile phone contracts 
• Building a house 
• Trader's rights

The complaint line has a more complete list of links if you wish to make a complaint. These can be accessed via complaintline.com.au.

Understanding consumer credit issues

If you are unsure about who you owe money to, a credit report is essential. A credit file is simply a record of your previous credit history.
Information is collected on certain financial actions that are made or have been made in the last 5 years. Please note that bankruptcy information is held on your credit file for a period of 7 years. Personal information, loan applications and default information is contained in your credit report.

Common reasons for listing information on the credit report include:

• the person is at least 60 days overdue in making a payment to the lender. 
• there are court judgments including bankruptcy orders.
• a serious credit infringement has occurred, such as credit fraud.

Access to your credit report is free and can take a couple of weeks. To request a copy of your credit file, go to vedaadvatange.com.au. If you require it urgently, the usual cost is $32.95 (incl. GST). To access your credit file, you will need to provide a number of identifying details (e.g. driver’s licence, current and previous addresses, etc). Please note that if you provide those details to Veda Advantage, an outstanding creditor may access your file at some point and find your current contact details.