ANZ has been fined $15 million for misleading customers
- Big four banks ANZ fined over credit card charges
- Customers were not told that their balance was lower than it appeared
ANZ has been fined $15 million after admitting it misled some of its customers about not having to pay charges on their credit card accounts.
The bank failed to inform customers that their credit card account balances were lower than stated, leaving them with unexpected fees and interest when they took out cash advances.
The Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that ANZ did not act efficiently, fairly and equitably and was in breach of 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 incorrectly charged thousands of dollars.
ANZ has since refunded $8.3 million to affected customers.
ANZ Bank has been fined $15 million after admitting misleading some of its customers about credit card charges (stock image)
The financial regulator said consumers deserved clear and accurate information about their money and what fees they had to pay.
“These are errors that we expect a bank to be aware of and correct in a timely manner,” Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) deputy chairwoman Sarah Court said.
“It should not have taken ANZ several years to address this problem.
“ASIC will continue to take action against banks that fail in their duty to act efficiently, honestly and fairly in dealing with customers.”
ANZ also agreed to set up a recovery program to refund customers charged a cash advance between November 2018 and September 2021.
In a statement, the bank said the procedure related to a situation where money was deposited into a credit card account and shown as available, and then a cash advance was made to that account before the money was processed.
It said it accepted responsibility for what happened, apologized to its customers and addressed the issues that led to the offences.