Australia’s biggest privately owned debt collection firm, Panthera, has been charged with allegedly flouting a ban on continuing to operate in Victoria.
Guardian Australia revealed earlier this year that Panthera, a debt collection giant with operations nationwide, was allegedly circumventing a blacklisting imposed on it in Victoria over past illegal conduct.
Consumer Affairs Victoria announced on Monday that it had charged Panthera with breaching the ban.
“Consumer Affairs Victoria has taken legal action against a major debt collector for allegedly operating in Victoria while prohibited,” the regulator said in a statement.
“We allege Panthera Finance breached Victorian fair trading laws by engaging in debt collection here when they were not allowed to do so.”
The blacklisting was imposed on Panthera after a decision in the federal court in March 2020, which found it had harassed three consumers to pay disputed debts in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
That decision triggered an automatic ban on Panthera operating in Victoria for five years. Panthera could have kept operating, had it sought special permission from the Business Licensing Authority in Victoria, but CAV said it did not do so.
The director of CAV, Nicole Rich, said debt collection must be done in a legal manner.
“Many people are facing financial challenges as cost-of-living pressures continue to rise and it is already stressful having to manage tight household budgets,” she said.
“People in this situation can be very vulnerable to poor debt collection practices. We will continue to investigate and take action to ensure compliance with Victoria’s debt collection protections as a priority.”
The case against Panthera has been listed for a filing hearing at the Melbourne magistrates court on 19 August.
Panthera has been approached for comment.
Large parts of the business are now under administration by PWC. The administrators were also approached for comment.
