Have you purchased something that isn't working the way it should? Are you having difficulties juggling bills and paying debts? KCLS might be able to help.

Consumer Law

Every day, people buy products and services - sometimes it's in a shop, other times it can be online and sometimes you might even have someone knocking on your door with special offers.

Unfortunately, not all purchases turn out the way you want them to; this can cause problems and mean that you pay more money as time goes on.

When you buy products and services, you have rights as a consumer. Your rights are called 'consumer guarantees' and mean that you can expect to get what you paid for and that the item will do what you expected. If it doesn't, you can:

• Seek a repair, replacement, or refund

• Cancel a service

• Seek compensation for damage and loss

Consumer guarantees cover products and services costing less than $40,000. Products or services costing more than $40,000 will be covered if they have been bought for personal or household use.

How KCLS can help

If you're having problems with products or services that you've purchased or items that you've hired, KCLS might be able to help.

Credit Law

When you enter into a contract for a loan or a credit card or when you hire items such as furniture and pay as you go, the business must make sure that they're not providing you with credit that's unsuitable.

In some instances, this means that if you're already having difficulty paying bills and juggling debts, a credit provider must act responsibly and must not create further hardship for you.

When dealing with businesses providing credit, they must:

• Hold a licence to engage in credit activities

• Make reasonable enquiries about your financial situation, requirements, and objectives, and take reasonable steps to verify your financial situation to ensure the product is not unsuitable

How KCLS can help

If you find yourself unable to meet the payments on your loan or credit card, you may be able to request a hardship variation. KCLS may also be able to assist you by investigating what other rights you may have under the contract.

Financial Counselling

We provide advice, advocacy, and support to people in financial difficulty, including unpaid bills, debts, fines, and superannuation issues. The team aims to build financial resilience by providing practical information, money management skills, and coaching to help clients make better financial decisions.

• We offer financial counselling if you are worrying about money

• We cannot give people money to pay their bills

• We can work with people who want to try and get on top of their bills

How KCLS can help

• Complete a budget with you

• Contact other services and agencies to confirm your bills and debts

• Call Horizon Power if you are struggling to pay your power bill, and you want Horizon Power to approve you for a government payment towards your bill: the Hardship Utilities Grant Scheme (HUGS)

• Apply for some of your debts to be forgiven because of your hardship

• Deal with debt collectors