UPDATE: This article was updated on Wednesday 20 March 2024 to include a statement provided by Urban Rampage and updated again on 30 April as ASIC's stop order became permanent.
The corporate regulator has slapped a stop order on a retailer that pushes unaffordable purchases on First Nations consumers who rely on Centrelink payments.
The Urban Rampage retail brand, which is owned by Coral Coast Distributors (CCD), has stores in 10 remote and regional locations in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
They trade in clothes, as well as hardware and homeware goods, and their customers are often First Nations consumers who pay through the Centrepay deductions system.
Advocates have long raised concerns about the Centrepay system being hijacked by questionable companies selling non-essential goods
Companies can apply to join Centrepay and, if approved, can authorise automatic payments from Centrelink clients.
Advocates have long raised concerns about the Centrepay system being hijacked by questionable companies selling non-essential goods.
The system has also been exploited by businesses cynically focusing on genuine needs, such as the failed funeral insurance provider, the Aboriginal Community Benefits Fund (ACBF) also known as Youpla.
Stop order
ASIC's interim stop order prevented Urban Rampage from accessing customers through Centrepay for 21 days, giving the retailer time to negotiate before a final determination is made. In April, ASIC's stop order was made permanent.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says the regulator took action after receiving a number of complaints from financial counsellors about Urban Rampage targeting customers in financial hardship.
"Urban Rampage describes its target market as consumers who predominantly reside in remote Aboriginal communities, are low-income recipients of Centrelink payments, do not have immediate funds to purchase household goods and do not otherwise have access to credit," she says.
The regulator took action after receiving a number of complaints from financial counsellors
"ASIC is concerned that CCD's Target Market Determination did not adequately detail eligibility criteria, including how the financial capacity of consumers is to be determined."
A Target Market Determination is a document detailing who the intended market of a product is, including financial situation and their likely needs.
ASIC says deficiencies in Urban Rampage's documentation may reflect an inability to ensure their credit facilities are suited to the needs of their customers.
Long-running complaints
Wangkumara and Barkandji woman Lynda Edwards from Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) says the organisation has seen countless examples of remote consumers being taken advantage of by "scandalous" operators like Urban Rampage.
"Advocates are very clear, we need bad businesses like this off Centrepay permanently. We need to look at what has happened to Centrepay and why it is being allowed for things that are not necessities," she says.
"These are really bad businesses targeting First Nations people. The government has got to start doing something to protect Centrelink recipients."
Boandik woman Bettina Cooper, a financial counsellor and strategy lead at Mob Strong Debt Help, says the advocacy group welcomes ASIC's intervention.
These are really bad businesses targeting First Nations people. The government has got to start doing something to protect Centrelink recipients
Lynda Edwards, Financial Counselling Australia
"ASIC's intervention is a positive step to stop businesses' exploitative practices, especially those harming our most vulnerable First Nations brothers and sisters on Centrelink in remote communities," she says.
"Having seen the harm done to First Nations consumers through our consumer advocate allies, we support ASIC's stop orders and will wait with interest to see what happens next. We know of consumers with hundreds of dollars in credit at Urban Rampage stores, but not enough money in their accounts to feed their families."
Cooper adds that businesses' access to Centrepay is a privilege and not a right. She calls for the government to take swift action against businesses accessing payment from Centrepay that exploit consumers.
Some businesses see Centrepay as a guaranteed way to make money, without considering if the consumer can afford their product or service
Financial counsellor Bettina Cooper
"Some businesses see Centrepay as a guaranteed way to make money, without considering if the consumer can afford their product or service," Cooper says.
In a statement to CHOICE sent following the publication of this article, the retailer said they had never failed a Centrepay audit since joining the program in 2016.
"Centrepay has been around since 1999 and there have been instances of unscrupulous operators contravening Centrepay's business terms. We are not one of those operators," an Urban Rampage spokesperson says.
"We have always strived to ensure we are on top of all compliance and regulatory matters and even engaged cultural consultants to help us improve our services in Indigenous communities."
