Centrepay is an online tool designed to help people on Centrelink pay for essentials like rent or bills through automatic deductions. But financial counsellors say the government service is instead being misused by some providers to exploit vulnerable Australians.

Rent 4 Keeps is being sued by ASIC over avoiding protections for the vulnerable. But beware of rent to buy in general.

Also watch out for OpenPay, I almost signed up to cover my cat's vet bills but was thankfully able to manage.

I haven't personally used No Interest Loans from Good Shepherd so I can't speak to how safe and legit they are, but if you're in some unavoidable difficulty they don't charge interest and on the face of it do seem a bit less predatory.

https://news.nab.com.au/news/nab-and-good-shepherd-20-years/

  • Briongloid@aussie.zoneM2•7 months ago

    I've always felt that this business model, which primarily targets people on payments, is incredibly predatory.

    I wish people knew how to find great $300-$400 phones, I got a Poco F3 for $400 1.5 years ago with a SD870 8GB/256GB.