Petrina BerryAustralian Associated Press: Consumer groups are...

Petrina BerryAustralian Associated Press:
Consumer groups are demanding the federal government acts on its pledge to better protect vulnerable people from short-term payday lenders.
The government has yet to act on its November promise that it would introduce recommendations in a review it commissioned, which included capping monthly consumer lease fees as a proportion of the size of a loan and of the borrower's income.
The review found some people paid $3,000 for a $345 clothes dryer, with interest rates equivalent to 884 per cent.
An alliance of consumer groups, including CHOICE and Consumer Action Law Centre, went to Canberra on Monday to put pressure on the government to follow through.
"Every day the federal government delays this legislation is another day someone walks through our doors in financial distress because of the devastatingly poor practices within this industry," Financial Rights Legal Centre's spokeswoman Alexandra Kelly said.
Consumers Federation of Australia chair Gerard Brody said payday lenders prey on people on low incomes or in tough situations and trap them in high-cost products.
"People are often left struggling to pay off multiple loans or leases," he said.
"It's essential that payday lenders and consumer lease companies like Radio Rentals have to limit how much someone has to devote to these toxic products to 10 per cent of their income."
The recommendations backed by the government included capping monthly consumer lease fees to four per cent of the base price for a maximum of 48 months and limiting payday loan and consumer lease repayments to 10 per cent of the person's net income.