Debt Collection Practices

Every contact Merion makes is built around the law and guidance that governs debt collection in Australia. We believe effective recovery and fair conduct are not in tension — in our experience, the respectful, accurate approach is also the one that resolves accounts.

The standards we follow

• the ACCC & ASIC Debt collection guideline (RG 96), which sets the conduct standard for the industry;
• the Australian Consumer Law, which prohibits misleading, deceptive, harassing or coercive conduct;
• the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, which govern how we handle personal information.

What you can expect from us

• Honesty and accuracy. We pursue only what can properly be claimed, and every figure we quote can be substantiated.
• Reasonable contact. We contact people at reasonable times and at a reasonable frequency, and we stop a particular channel if you ask and it is appropriate.
• No harassment or coercion. We never use threats, intimidation or undue pressure.
• Identification. We identify ourselves and explain why we are contacting you.
• Respect for privacy. We confirm we are dealing with the right person before discussing an account.

Your rights

You have the right to ask us to verify a debt, to dispute an amount you believe is wrong, to nominate how and when we contact you, to ask that we deal with your authorised representative, and to make a complaint. You can dispute or request verification of a debt at any time, and where a genuine dispute is raised we generally pause recovery while it is reviewed.

Our people

Our team is trained in these standards, and compliance is built into how we work rather than checked after the fact. If you ever feel a contact has fallen short, please tell us through our Complaints Handling Policy.