CB in Australia said: “I have only just become aware of the recent action against HFC in the UK, in relation to the selling of consumer insurance. I was wondering whether HFC was the company that operated in Australia as “HFC Financial Services” until the early 1990s. In the late 80s, Consumer Credit Legal Service and the Government Consumer Affairs Department in Victoria, Australia, objected to HFC holding a credit providers licence. A number of matters, including debt collection methods and the “forced” selling of consumer credit insurance were raised to show that HFC could not meet the requirement to operate in a way that was “fair, honest and efficient”.
HFC lost the case, and before the appeal could be heard, entered into a settlement with the objectors which included refunds to some consumers and a cy pres settlement of $2.25 million. HFC closed their operations in Australia shortly after this. If the UK matter involved the same company, then HFC’s warnings about this type of conduct go back some time. I would be happy to provide you with further information if this is useful.”
Related posts:
