Make It Mine Finance Pty Ltd, in the matter of Make It Mine Finance Pty Ltd (No 2) [2015] FCA 1255

Make It Mine Finance Pty Ltd, in the matter of Make It Mine Finance Pty Ltd (No 2) [2015] FCA 1255

MIM's contraventions were extensive and systemic, involving thousands of credit contracts with vulnerable Centrelink-recipient consumers, failures to disclose key credit information, unlicensed credit activity, and failures to comply with responsible lending obligations. Although the licensing breaches were treated as inadvertent and MIM had co-operated, instituted one proceeding, shown some contrition, and implemented compliance improvements, MIM had not taken its Code obligations seriously, had ignored or varied clear legal advice about credit contract disclosures, had inadequate compliance systems during the contravening period, and continued using non-compliant contracts after...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 November 2015
Procedural Posture
Consumer Credit Civil Penalty Proceedings / Penalty Hearing After Liability Judgment and Declarations of Contraventions
Outcome
MIM ordered to pay a total pecuniary penalty of $1,250,000 to the Commonwealth, with payment to ASIC treated as receipt by the Commonwealth, and to pay ASIC's costs; operation of the penalty order stayed for 30 days.
Legal Topics
['national Credit Code Disclosure Requirements' 'unlicensed Credit Activity' 'responsible Lending Obligations' 'pecuniary Penalty' 'deterrence' 'course of Conduct Principle' 'totality Principle' 'capacity to Pay']
['consumer Law' 'consumer Credit' 'civil Penalties' 'financial Services Regulation'] ['national Credit Code Disclosure Requirements' 'unlicensed Credit Activity' 'responsible Lending Obligations' 'pecuniary Penalty' 'deterrence' 'course of Conduct Principle' 'totality Principle' 'capacity to Pay']

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Procedural Posture

Consumer Credit Civil Penalty Proceedings / Penalty Hearing After Liability Judgment and Declarations of Contraventions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["What pecuniary penalty should be fixed for MIM's contraventions of the National Credit Code disclosure requirements." "What pecuniary penalty should be fixed for MIM's unlicensed credit activity under the Transitional Act." "What pecuniary penalty should be fixed for MIM's contraventions of responsible lending obligations under the National Credit Act." "Whether MIM's asserted reliance on legal advice, misunderstanding that its arrangements were consumer leases, remedial conduct, co-operation, and capacity to pay affected penalty." 'Whether the contraventions should be grouped by course of conduct and how the totality principle should apply.']

Ratio Decidendi

MIM's contraventions were extensive and systemic, involving thousands of credit contracts with vulnerable Centrelink-recipient consumers, failures to disclose key credit information, unlicensed credit activity, and failures to comply with responsible lending obligations. Although the licensing breaches were treated as inadvertent and MIM had co-operated, instituted one proceeding, shown some contrition, and implemented compliance improvements, MIM had not taken its Code obligations seriously, had ignored or varied clear legal advice about credit contract disclosures, had inadequate compliance systems during the contravening period, and continued using non-compliant contracts after...

Court Disposition

MIM ordered to pay a total pecuniary penalty of $1,250,000 to the Commonwealth, with payment to ASIC treated as receipt by the Commonwealth, and to pay ASIC's costs; operation of the penalty order stayed for 30 days.

Orders

  • ['Make It Mine Finance Pty Ltd (MIM) pay a pecuniary penalty to the Commonwealth of Australia fixed in the amount of $1,250,000.' 'Payment by MIM of the said sum to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shall be treated as receipt by the Commonwealth of Australia and as discharging the...