One of Australia’s largest debt collecting firms attempted to claw back more than 200,000 individual debts in Victoria while allegedly banned from doing so by the state’s regulator, Guardian Australia can reveal.

Affected consumers who paid the company could be entitled to refunds if the collection activity is found to be in breach of the state ban.

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) launched legal action against Panthera Finance in 2024, alleging the company breached Victorian fair trading laws by engaging in debt collection while deemed a “prohibited person”.