ASK YOUR MATES TO CHANGE THE LAW.
It's what a bank would do.
ASK YOUR MATES TO CHANGE THE LAW.
It's what a bank would do.
We claim that Aussie owned banks ANZ and ASB broke the law.
Instead of facing the consequences of law as it stood at the time they asked Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to change the law in their favour.
Now, the Beehive's set to rewrite the rules for the banks.
If big corporates get away with this, what’s next?
What did the Banks do?
The Banking Class Action alleges that ANZ and ASB breached disclosure obligations intended to protect the interests of consumers when borrowing money between 2015-2019.
We say that if the Banks committed the breaches as alleged, the law is clear that they were and are required to refund affected customers all the interest and fees they paid during the periods the Banks were in breach.
Both Banks are defending the claims and have not refunded all of the interest and fees claimed.
What is happening now?
The big Aussie Banks have been campaigning to the MBIE behind closed doors.
Their goal is to have Parliament amend the legislation the Banking Class Action relies on, the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) 2003, to backdate a law that gives the courts the express ability to reduce or extinguish any liability for refunds so that it applies to the period 2015-2019.
The amendment was speedily taken to a Select Committee for review.
There’s more at stake than the refunds we allege ANZ and ASB customers are owed.
Should this amendment pass, it sets a dangerous precedent. It’s a sign that big corporates can seek to have the laws rewritten to suit themselves at the expense of everyday Kiwis.
New Zealanders want the courts to decide the outcome of cases based on the law that applied at the time the conduct occurred. They do not want politicians to change the law after the fact to make things easier for one of the parties and harder for the other.
We don’t want Aussie-owned banks and their mega profits protected at the expense of everyday Kiwis.
We believe both ANZ and ASB failed to comply with important disclosure obligations, in place to protect consumers when borrowing money, between 2015-2019.
The Banking Class Action claims that ANZ provided customers with disclosure containing incorrect information and that ASB failed to provide customers with all of the information required in the manner required.We say that under the current law, if the Banks breached the disclosure laws, they were and are required to refund the affected customers all the interest and fees they have paid during the periods the Banks were in breach.
The Banks deny the alleged breaches and have not refunded all the claimed interest and fees.
The Banks have been campaigning to have the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 amended so that a law that expressly allow the courts to reduce or extinguish liability to refund interest and fees that currently applies from December 2019 will retrospectively apply from June 2015, allowing them to rely on it in our case.
The proposed retrospective law change has been inserted into wider proposed changes to the Act, now fast-tracked for consideration by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee with hearing dates held across July 2025.
We say that, if the amendment is passed, the impact on the Banking Class Action will be severe:
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We say that the current law is clear - if the Banks breached their disclosure obligations they must refund all interest and fees relating to the period they were in breach.
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If the law is changed, the court will decide how much the banks have to refund – it could be much less than is currently claimed and it could be nothing. This uncertainty is a game changer. The Class Action could lose funding, in which case the plaintiffs and class members’ claims will never be determined – there will be no justice.
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Despite the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Scott Simpson’s public claims that the Banks did not ask for this proposed law change, documents released in response to an Official Information Act (OIA) request show the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) consulted with them regarding the amendment behind closed doors.
In contrast, MBIE kept the tens of thousands of Kiwis represented in the Class Action in the dark regarding these developments, after previously communicating they were not considering such a law change.
The previous Government rejected this retrospective approach in 2019. The Commerce Commission opposed it as it could impact its settlements with other lenders. Other lenders who have breached their disclosure obligations have refunded all interest and fees, as we say the banks should.
Many submissions have been made to the Select Committee in opposition to the amendment, including by the New Zealand Law Society.
Email the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Scott Simpson, to share your views. Find out how here.
The class action represents tens of thousands of Kiwis, called plaintiffs. This website and associated campaign is run for the plaintiffs to support their endeavours to prevent retrospective amendments to the CCCFA being passed by parliament and the representative plaintiff is Anthony Simons.