As detailed in the Writer's
Submission to Maurice Blackburn
dated 25 June 2017
seeking a
Class Action
against the RBA for breach of
its
Statutory Duty
and
Fiduciary Duty,
400,000
circa
Credit Cardholders across Australia
-
a)
have paid in excess of $20,000 each in
Interest and Penalty Fees
(charged at
Usurious
Interest Rates) during up to a continuous
nine years period at an average
Comparison Rate Over
18% Per Annum;
b)
were misled by
Predatory
Advertising
Targeted At Credit Cardholders With Low
Financial Literacy
Capacity that
constitutes
Unconscionable Conduct;
c)
have suffered
Extreme Financial And Emotional Distress;
and
d) posses poor
Financial Literacy Capacity
(predominantly Level 1 or below, and some Level
2) as -
(i) identified and quantified by the Productivity Commission,
the ABS and ASIC separate written reports (Chapter
1); and
(ii) evidenced on a daily basis by 500
circa
Financial Counsellors
employed by 44
charities/community organisations that collectively receive $43 million annually
from the Commonwealth Govt. ($20m) and the State Govts ($23m) via
Financial Counselling Australia
(Chapter 7).
Hardly a month goes by without another
newspaper article,
or report by
ASIC,
the
Reserve Bank
or a plea from a
Credit Card Distress Authority,
regarding the debt burden born by a small number of
Credit Cardholders, invariably with
Poor Numeracy and Literacy
Skills
that the RBA has referred to as
Persistent Revolvers. Meanwhile
two thirds of Credit Cardholders, described by the RBA as
Transactors, enjoy their
Lines of Credit a virtually no
cost, because
Annual
Cardholder Fees account for only 2% of
Interest And Penalty Fees Revenue.
Is Australia really an egalitarian country?
Five
Prime Ministers have talked it, but our Federal Govt hasn't walked it,
obligated under
Section 51 (xiii) of the Australian Constitution, to
the detriment of
Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians
that possess, through no fault of their own, poor
Financial Literacy Skills;
some Credit Card Issuers have deployed
Predatory Advertising and
charged Usurious Interest Rates
and Penalty Fees, Targeted At Credit Cardholders With Low
Financial Literacy
Capacity.
St Vincent de Paul, Salvos, Anglicare et al provide a welter of
Financial
Counsellors where
Credit Card Debt
Accruing Interest, often spread over several
Credit Cards, is invariably the root of
Extreme Financial And Emotional Distress.
Australian Governments
allocate $43.38 million annually to 44 Australian charities to provide
financial counselling to Australians that are experiencing
Extreme Financial And Emotional Distress.
National Debt Helpline is a not-for-profit service that provides
professional counsellors to help Australians tackle their debt problems.
