Gold Coast-based financial planning and property management company, Equanimity Concepts Pty Ltd, has paid $30,600 in penalties for false or misleading advertising.
The ads for financing options for home loans ran on Equanimity’s website, on YouTube, in in-flight magazines for Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, and in police journals for more than two years. ASIC was concerned the company could have misled consumers into thinking that if they borrowed with Equanimity, they would be helped to repay their home loan in a reduced timeframe without incurring further debt.
The company entered into an enforceable undertaking (EU) with ASIC in November 2014 following an investigation into the ads (refer: 14-297MR).
In further regulatory action over the matter, ASIC issued the company with three infringement notices, each one imposing a penalty of $10,200.
ASIC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain consumer protection laws. The payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.