Jarni Blakkarly reports for CHOICE.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products are an easy tool for financial abuse perpetrators to manipulate. RLC supports many victim survivors left with unmanageable debt after having BNPL accounts fraudulently opened in their names. In many cases, our clients are totally unaware of the debt.
"In identity theft or fraud circumstances, the victim survivor typically has no idea that they even have BNPL accounts open in their name until they are being pursued, either by the provider or by a debt collector, for the debt," Jasmine Opdam from RLC’s Financial Abuse Service NSW explains.
In the process of supporting our clients, RLC’s Financial Abuse Service often works with BNPL companies to educate them about best practice.
The BNPL voluntary code of practice is insufficient to protect consumers. Stronger industry regulation and enforceable consumer protections are needed to prevent harm from BNPL products.
Read full article (CHOICE, 12 October 2022)
