ANZ fined $15million for misleading customers

ANZ was fined $15 million after admitting it misled some of its customers into believing they did not have to pay fees on their credit card accounts.

The bank failed to inform its customers that their credit card account balances were lower than stated, thereby charging them with unexpected fees and interest when they took out cash advances.

The Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that ANZ had failed to act efficiently, honestly and fairly and had breached financial regulations.

More than 186,000 accounts were charged an average of $45 in fees and interest on cash advances between May 2016 and November 2018, with some customers unfairly charged thousands of dollars.

ANZ has since refunded $8.3 million to affected customers.

The financial regulator said consumers deserve clear and accurate information about their money and the fees they are required to pay.

“These are errors that we expect a bank to be aware of and correct in a timely manner,” Australian Securities and Investments Commission deputy chair Sarah Court said.

“It shouldn’t have taken ANZ several years to resolve this issue.

“ASIC will continue to take action against banks that fail in their duty to act efficiently, honestly and fairly in their dealings with their customers.”

ANZ has also agreed to establish a remediation program to reimburse customers who were charged cash advance fees between November 2018 and September 2021.

In a statement, the bank said the proceedings related to a situation where funds were deposited into a credit card account and displayed as available, then a cash advance was made to that account before the funds were released. treated.

She said she accepted responsibility for what happened, apologized to her customers and addressed the issues that caused the offenses.