Debt collector fined $500,000

Debt collection agency Panthera has been fined A$500,000 for "unduly harassing consumers" over debts they did not owe. In one case it misled the consumer.

The Federal Court ruled that Panthera pursued repayment of the debts despite being advised that the consumers were not liable for them. In two cases it placed incorrect default listings in the consumers' credit files.

Panthera told one of the consumers they needed to pay a $100 fee to have a default listing removed from their credit file, even though the listing was incorrect and could have been removed for free.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which took the case to court, said "all three consumers were subjected to repeated and intrusive calls from Panthera".

The consumers had to go through a number of steps to prove they did not owe the debt.

On top of the fines, Panthera was ordered to pay $100,000 towards the ACCC's costs.

The ACCC said that over the past two years around 100 people have complained to it about Panthera's debt collection activities.

In one case, Panthera pursued the consumer over an electricity bill in a state they had never lived in.