NSW Small Business Commissioner challenges big firms accused of shady subscriptions practices

Debt collectors are chasing small businesses which fall into auto-renewing contracts they can no longer afford, the New South Wales Small Business Commissioner says, highlighting problematic behaviour by big-name service providers and the difficulty some smaller firms face when escaping lock-in subscriptions.

New South Wales Small Business Commissioner Chris Lamont says his office has written to subscription services on behalf of small businesses, which have complained of unfair treatment and unclear wording in business-to-business contracts.

In the worst-case scenario, major businesses are simply not providing the services promised to small businesses, Lamont said.

However, Lamont said his office is aware of multiple occasions where auto-renewing contracts have caught small businesses off-guard, leaving those traders exposed to debt collectors when they were unable to terminate their contracts early.