Brimbank residents who are experiencing ‘‘bill shock’’ or struggling to understand the fine print on their latest utilities contract can get a helping hand this Thursday.
Brimbank Social Justice Coalition is holding a Bring Your Bills day, enabling residents to speak to experts about bills, fines, rates, housing issues, budgets and financial planning.
Brimbank council chairman John Watson said the free event, held during Anti-Poverty Week, aimed to reduce stress, confusion and hardship when it came to financial matters.
“We want residents to feel confident, not overwhelmed, when it comes to understanding their contracts and bills,” Mr Watson said.
A Star Weekly report in May revealed about one in seven Brimbank residents was in rate arrears.
Meanwhile, figures from the Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre (BMCLC) show the centre has helped more than 125 people with legal problems
associated with bills or consumer debt in the past 12 months, with utilities, mobile phones, internet, credit cards and personal loans causing the most hardship.
BMCLC managing lawyer Matt Carrazzo said common problems included unpaid bills due to serious financial hardship, disputes about excessive or incorrect bills, the effect of unpaid bills on credit ratings, and legal action taken by debt recovery agencies.
“Bill and financial stress can also co-occur when people experience other forms of disadvantage, including existing financial difficulty, disability or other stressful life situations like family violence, relationship breakdown or loss of employment,” Mr Carrazzo said.
“BMCLC only sees people once their legal issue has reached crisis point, so events like Bring Your Bills day is important in enabling community members to access help in the early stages of bill or financial stress.”
‘Bring Your Bills’ is at the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine from 10am to 2pm this Thursday.
