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Writer's CD submission to RBA sent 8 Dec 2011 Intro letter to ACA Lawyers Submission Letter to ACA Lawyers Defined Terms and Documents
5 Ronald Ave 0434 715.861
Insert enclosed CD in a Windows PC
which will open at this IntroLetterTo_ACA_Lawyers.htm - click on the URLs therein Mr. Steven Lewis ACA Lawyers
Level 14, Bligh Chambers
Sydney, NSW 2000
Class Action - * representing Eligible Plaintiffs many - (A) have suffered from Numeracy And Literacy Discrimination by some Credit Card Issuers that have engaged in Unconscionable Conduct; (B) are Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians drawn from approx. 20% of Australian Credit Cardholders; (C) have been charged Usurious Unsecured Personal Loan Interest Rates using Multiple Credit Cards and have paid Material Interest And Fees; and * against the Reserve Bank of Australia ("RBA") for breaching its Statutory Duty and its Fiduciary Duty by not complying with its Parliamentary Bestowed Mandate - (i) to ensure "...the economic prosperity and welfare of (all of) the people of Australia"; (ii) to not merely ensure "...the economic prosperity and welfare of..." the Financially Educated which would invariably include employees of the RBA; and (iii) by condoning Unconscionable Conduct by some Credit Card Issuers as evidenced in Labyrinth of ‘Concealed Spiders’; (iv) by abrogating its Parliamentary Bestowed "extensive powers" to "...gather information from a payment system or from individual participants" by not requiring Credit Card Issuers to provide regular, quantified financial reports to Australia's Primary Credit Card Regulator that details interest/fees data to ensure that Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians are not suffering Numeracy And Literacy Discrimination by being charged material interest/fees at Usurious Unsecured Personal Loan Interest Rates and that Financially Educated are also contributing to the material cost of enjoying the convenience of Credit Cards (v) by periodically releasing detailed financial reports, written by a small cohort of RBA employees, on developments in the credit card market which overplay the share of revenue sourced from Merchant Service Fees on the 'wholesale' side of Credit Cards and downplay the reliance upon Interest And Fees Revenue on the 'retail side' of Credit Cards The Reserve Bank brought credit card schemes in Australia under its regulatory oversight on 12 April 2001 Will ACA Lawyers review the Writer's Submission Letter which sets out the justification for a Class Action against the RBA representing Eligible Plaintiffs? The Writer worked for CBA for 37 years prior to retiring in 2007. In late 2011, the Writer commenced emails with Ms. Sharon van Etten, Public Relations Officer, Media & Public Relations Office, Reserve Bank of Australia which informed that in his career at CBA he had dealings with the RBA's Note Issue Dept in the late '70s and in retirement he sought data from the RBA on the percentage of Cardholders who repay their outstanding indebtedness in a particular month, and a break-up of those who do not. The RBA did not respond to his extensive submission (on a CD ROM) dated 8 December 2011 to Ms. Sharon van Etten which behoved the RBA's Board to - (i) draw upon its extensive powers to regulate Credit Card Issuers so that the User Pays Principle applied by implementing the Writer's recommendations therein [set out in B)(a) and B)(b)] "for the economic prosperity and welfare of (ALL) the people of Australia" and not merely for "lucky" Australians who are proficient "..to participate in a knowledge-based economy.." described by the Productivity Commission as "...possessing level 3 or above numeracy and literacy skills...." and Financially Educated Credit Cardholders with level 3, level 4 and level 5 Financial Literacy making no meaningful contribution to the high cost of the 'lines of credit' that they enjoy with their Credit Card Products, as acknowledged by the RBA in its below extract from its Consultation Document titled Executive Summary - Reform of Credit Card Schemes in Australia: RBA's "A Consultation Document" – December 2001 that notes under point 6 of 'Introduction':
(ii) inform the Federal Government, pursuant to section 11 "Differences of opinion with Government on questions of policy" of The Reserve Bank Act 1959, as amended, that the RBA's monetary and banking policy needs to regulate Credit Card Issuers to apply the equitable User Pays Principle. National Credit Reform: Enhancing Confidence and Fairness in Australia’s Credit Law dated July 2010 notes: Interest rates on credit cards range from 9.9 per cent to over 20 per cent, which is substantially greater than the average variable home loan rate (currently about six to eight per cent)." Credit Card Products are both ubiquitous and unique. Almost all essential items purchased in society have a price which is the same no matter if you are wealthy or poor. A loaf of bread, a carton of beer, a gallon of petrol command a price that the purchaser, rich or poor, pays. Approx. 60% of Credit Cardholders, those that are Financially Educated with level 3, 4 and 5 Financial Literacy, make almost no payment for enjoying a Line/s of Credit for up to 55 days. The remaining 40% circa who are Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians, with level 1 and 2 Financial Literacy, pay the operating costs and generate the profits in Interest And Fees Revenue, of Credit Card Issuers. Hence, over one third of Credit Cardholders pay the cost of almost two thirds of Credit Cardholders enjoying a Line/s of Credit for an ave. 2,923 (per card) for between 45 days and 55 days before those "almost two thirds" pay for their Purchases. How can such an inequitable pricing mechanism exist? Because of Unconscionable Conduct by too many Credit Card Issuers as exampled in a Labyrinth of Concealed Spiders in marketing a complex*** product, 70+ pages of fine print too often with loss of Interest Free Period for up to three months for failing to pay the Closing Balance in full by the Payment Due Date, gimmicky loyalty points that are almost worthless, Usurious Unsecured Personal Loan Interest Rates Charged On Many Credit Cards) and an inept conflicted financial regulator with "extensive powers" to "...gather information from a payment system or from individual participants" under statutory authority that will not draw upon those "extensive powers". *** extract from the Productivity Commission's Staff Working Paper Links Between Literacy and Numeracy Skills and Labour Market Outcomes dated Aug 2010 included a bullet point summary titled "Key Points" which includes: A material percentage of Credit Cardholders in Australia enjoy 'up to 42 days' Line of Credit for a mode Card Limit of $10,000 for virtually no cost. Line of Credit explains that the vast majority of these Credit Cardholders make multiple Purchases each month, sometimes several Purchases in a day, and do not pay a single cent on those Purchases for 'up to 42 days'. If a Credit Cardholder pays off its 'Total Payment Due' by the Payment Due Date, the Cardholders pays no interest for its 'up to 42 days' Line of Credit. The Writer has two Credit Cards which have 'Periodical Debits' set up to automatically debit his savings bank account to repay his Total Payment Due each month on the Payment Due Date. He enjoys a minimum of 28 days and a maximum of 42 days Line of Credit on his Purchases. Neither Credit Cards charges an annual fee. For many years, the Writer has paid no fees/interest on his two Credit Cards. Yet he has made Purchases which aggregate more than $250,000. He is not alone. There are many Financially Educated Cardholders that similarly enjoy a 'up to 42 days' Line of Credit at no cost, without contributing to the high cost of the array of Credit Card Products. The Writer argues that the Revolvers (with level 1 and level 2 Financial Literacy skills) are paying the Transactors' (with level 3, 4 and 5 Financial Literacy) usage costs which is contrary to the to ensure "...the economic prosperity and welfare of (all of) the people of Australia". The Writer has expended a few hundred hours preparing a Submission Letter which seeks ACA Lawyers to consider commencing a 'Class Action' on behalf of thousands of Australians with level 1 and level 2 Financial Literacy and have paid Material Interest And Fees (more than $5,000 in fees and interest on their Credit Cards at a Comparison Rate Over 20% Per Annum over any three year period), known as Eligible Plaintiffs, because - A. the majority of Credit Card Products charge a Usurious Unsecured Personal Loan Interest Rate which is up to 8% above the interest cost on Unsecured Personal Loans offered by the Four Pillars; B. advertising of many Credit Card Products employ a Labyrinth of Concealed Spiders intended to deceive Australians over the age of 18 with only level 1 and level 2 Financial Literacy; and C. the RBA has not employed its "extensive powers" to "...gather information from a payment system or from individual participants." on Credit Card Products such as Balance Transfer Interest-Free Period Credit Cards or regulate Credit Card Issuers, thereby complicit in discrimination against Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians. Q & A encapsulates some of the Submission Letter (on a CD) that the Writer asks you to review, which provides a URL to the Writer's CD submission to Ms. Sharon van Etten, Public Relations Officer, Media & Public Relations Office, Reserve Bank of Australia dated 8 Dec 2011 referred to in his above opening paragraph. Should ACA Lawyers wish to commence my requested 'Class Action' against Australia's principal banking regulator and perhaps other regulators of Credit Card Issuers, the Writer would sell the Intellectual Property in his CD to ACA Lawyers for a peppercorn fee of $1. Will you approach IMF Bentham or another litigation funder? NB: I will be holidaying in the USA from 20 May to 21 June this year.
Yours sincerely |
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