04.Tell your story
Do you have an unfair bank fee story? Email us!
Irina, NSW
Irina was charged penalty fees by ANZ after inadvertently overdrawing her account on 3 occasions. The transactions left her account $1.87 in overdraft and each time the bank charged her $35. Irina contacted the bank by phone and they agreed to refund $35 (one fee) but not the rest. Irina sent the ‘fair go on fees’ template letter to ANZ to reclaim the remaining $70 in penalty fees. Initially the bank rejected her claim, but after sending a follow-up email the bank agreed to refund $70 as ‘a gesture of goodwill’. ANZ have warned Irina she will be charged these fees in the future.
Christine, WA
Christine sent the ‘Fair go on fees’ template letter to her bank after discovering penalty fees totaling $195.00. Shortly afterward she received a call from the bank advising they had agreed to refund the $195.00 and offered the opportunity for her to go into a local branch and speak to the manager about the fees.
Margaret, NSW
“Thought I would let you know that I was not successful, although I am glad to hear that some others are” Margaret said when writing to CHOICE “It is the small person who is already stretched to the limit that is most affected by these fees and I hope that through your persistence and others including governments, the banking industry can stop penalising us for having to use the bank for all our financial transactions. I am sure that most people do not intentionally get themselves into a situation where their account is overdrawn by a direct debit, it is usually a mistake or a genuine need”.
Kam, VIC
Kam was successful in reclaiming $80 in penalty fees from his bank. After noticing two penalty fees on a recent credit card statement, he downloaded the letter from www.fairfees.com.au and sent it off to Citibank. Thirty minutes later he received a call from the bank and he had $80 back in his account.
Bruno, VIC
Bruno was charged a penalty fee of $30 because his account went into overdraft as a result of a direct debit. The account was in overdraft for less than 24 hours. After seeing details of the ‘Fair go on fees’ campaign on television he contacted his bank, and got his money refunded.
Garry, QLD
Garry left $40.35 in his ANZ account for an insurance direct debit which was $38.55 , but the monthly insurance went up a couple of dollars to $41.65 which he was unaware of. This meant when the direct debit was made he was $1.35 short and was charged an overlimit fee of $35. “I am not mad that I have been charged a fee but I am mad at the amount” Garry said. After complaining to the bank Garry had the fee reversed.
Tell your story
Do you have an unfair bank fee story? Email us!
'Fair go on fees' is a joint campaign by Consumer Action Law Centre and CHOICE to end unfair bank penalty fees.