Consumer Credit Act

The consumer credit act is a law that helps protect the interests of the consumers when they borrow money from any firm, organization or bank. The first Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1974 by the Parliament. However, in 2006 certain amendments were made to the 1974 act and the scope for protection was extended by the government.

The act passed in 2006 by the parliament also allows consumers in the country to use the Ombudsman Service if they are dissatisfied with the resolution provided by the lender’s dispute option. They can go ahead with this alternative method with or without the consent of the lender.

For those of you wondering what the Ombudsman Service is all about, then here is a brief description of this service. This is a government service that helps consumers settle their disputes with all sorts of financial institutions such as banking, mortgage, savings, pension, credit cards, investments, loans, credit, stocks, financial advice, unit trusts, bonds, hire purchase, etc.

One of the most important things to remember before availing this service is that the consumer must first try to settle their dispute by using settlement service offered by the business or institution and then if they are not happy with the outcome they can use the Ombudsman Service.