ASIC Charges ANZ Bank for Incorrect Fees and Misrepresentations

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has taken another bank to court over allegations of misconduct. Announced on Monday, the Aussie regulator commenced civil penalty proceedings against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ).

The primary charges against the financial institution include misleading customers as to the available funds and balances in their credit card accounts.

According to the regulator, the bank charged around 165,750 customers between May 2016 and November 2018 for cash advance fees and interest for withdrawing or transferring money from their credit card accounts based on incorrect balances. It affected customers on the bank’s website, app and ATMs.

“In some cases, single customers were charged thousands of dollars in fees while the average cash advance fees and interest charged per affected account was $47,” said Sarah Court, the Deputy Chair at ASIC.

Moreover, the bank made false and misleading representations between May 2016 and September 2021 regarding withdrawal fees. It continued with the misleading representation even after that period, according to the regulator.

Ignoring the Issue

Additionally, ANZ has been blamed for ignoring the issue with inadequate fixes that kept affecting the customers. The bank has already remediated more than AU$10 million to the affected customers until 17 November 2018, but the problem continues to persist.

“This alleged misconduct is the result of system errors within ANZ and a lack of effort to comprehensively fix these issues. We say that ANZ has been aware of the unlawful charging since at least 2018, and the problem is still occurring today,” the Court added.

Now, ASIC wants remediation of funds for all the affected customers who have been falsely charged since 2018. Also, it is seeking declarations and pecuniary penalties. Furthermore, the regulator wants the implementation of a system by the bank to ensure the rectification of the lapses.