ASIC has announced that it has issued three infringement notices to debt management firm Fox Symes and Associates Pty Ltd (Fox Symes) for making potentially misleading statements in its website banner ads. The company has paid a total of $37,800 in penalties.

ASIC says it took action against Fox Symes after it made a number of potentially misleading representations in banner advertisements, Google ads and on its website. These representations included ‘Free Debt Assistance’, ‘Reduce Debt in Minutes’ and ‘15sec Approval’. ASIC was concerned that such statements misrepresented the cost and speed of Fox Symes’ debt management services.

With respect to ‘Free Debt Assistance’ which appeared in a banner advertisement and on the Fox Symes website, Fox Symes did not disclose to consumers that there was a limit to the ‘free debt assistance’ and that charges apply for most of Fox Symes’ services. The ‘free’ component referred only to the initial first phone consultation.

‘Reduce debt in minutes’ appeared in website banner advertisements. As Fox Symes’ services generally require engagement with third parties, ASIC said a reduction in debt cannot feasibly be achieved in minutes, seconds or any other similar short period of time.

‘15sec approval’ appeared in Google paid Adword results. When Fox Symes provides credit services, the responsible lending requirements under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) apply. ASIC says responsible lending approval could not be provided within such short timeframes.