this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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Disability pensioner charged $6,760 for renting a phone that retails for around $1,800 (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 11 months ago by vividspecter@lemm.ee to c/australia@aussie.zone
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[–] HumanBehaviorByBjork@hexbear.net 25 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

i feel like a proper disability benefits system would simply not deduct the money from her account, and also threaten the company with criminal fraud charges

[–] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 20 points 11 months ago

Usury laws should be applied to everything in the scummy industry targeting poor people. This shit, payday loans, consumer finance, all needs to be heavily regulated to avoid predatory behavior against the poor and disabled.

[–] vividspecter@lemm.ee 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's a scheme originally developed by the Howard government aimed to help Indigenous Australians pay off larger purchases but I somehow doubt their good intentions given the type of person John Howard was and is. In theory, it could be useful for income management but it needs to come with significant protections otherwise it's just predatory.

[–] thirtymilliondeadfish@hexbear.net 15 points 11 months ago

and we all know how much Howard cared about indigenous australians. Whether noble intent or not, the net effect is punitive and demeaning