*    Click on: Example 1 - Unconscionable Conduct - St George Visa Card 

Example 1 notes that if a St George Visa Gold Cardholder does not pay 100% of its Closing Balance by the Payment Due Date, the Cardholder is charged interest at a Usurious Interest Rate of 20% -
+       on all its Previous Month's Purchases (from the date of each Purchase); and
+       forfeited its Interest Free Period entitlement for the subsequent two months. Therefore the Cardholder enjoys no Interest Free Period for three months even if s/he paid only $1 less than their Closing Balance or paid their Closing Balance one day after their Payment Due Date. 

Summary information in St George Bank's monthly credit card statement deliberately seeks to deceive level 1 and level 2 Financial Literacy  Credit Cardholders into paying only the 2% 'Minimum Payment' which immediately triggers the above described interest rate of 20% on all Purchases for three consecutive months.  

Below is an extract from the bottom of page 2 of St. George Bank's "Conditions of Use - Credit Guide (Effective: 20 May 2014).  62 pages of the 64 pages are in tiny Arial 9 font.

“……We strongly recommend that you read this booklet carefully and retain it for your future reference. If you do not understand any part of it, please contact our staff on 13 33 30. They will be happy to explain any matter for you.” 

The Writer defies anybody to 'carefully' read and understand the "Conditions of Use - Credit Guide [64 pages] (in Arial 8 font) "...read this booklet carefully".  Requiring each Cardholder to read 64 pages of complex and detailed legal clauses is Unconscionable Conduct when the key information of the real costs and real benefits can be set out in a dozen bullet points on a single page. 

As defined by the ACCC,  Unconscionable Conduct notes 'inter alia' under 'How to avoid engaging in unconscionable conduct':

               "do not exploit the other party when negotiating the terms of an agreement or contract"

              "make sure your contracts are thorough, easy to understand, not too lengthy and do not include harsh, unfair or oppressive terms"

              "ensure you have clearly disclosed important or unusual terms or conditions of an agreement"

Unconscionable Conduct notes that the Australian consumer law – unfair contract terms (new provisions since 1 July 2010):

"In determining whether a term of a consumer contract is unfair a court must take into account the extent to which the term is transparent (that is, expressed in reasonably plain language, legible, presented clearly and readily available to all parties), and the contract as a whole."

In the afore-mentioned Example 1 - Unconscionable Conduct - St George Visa Card, forfeiting the Interest Free Period for three consecutive months due to not paying the entire Closing Balance by the Payment Due Date was not transparent  to the Credit Cardholder because that penalty was not "expressed in reasonably plain language, legible, presented clearly and readily available to all parties".

*    Click on: Example 2 - Unconscionable Conduct - Coles 'No Annual Fee MasterCard' and Coles 'Rewards MasterCard'

Example 2 notes that if a Coles Rewards MasterCard Cardholder does not pay 100% of its Closing Balance by the Payment Due Date, the Cardholder is charged interest at a Usurious Interest Rate of 19.99% p.a. on all its Previous Month's Purchases (from the date of each Purchase) and also for the subsequent two months, because the Cardholder forfeits its Interest Free Period entitlement for another two months.  Hence, the Cardholder enjoys no Interest Free Period for three consecutive months even if s/he paid only $1 less than his Closing Balance or paid his Closing Balance one day after his/her Payment Due Date.  Summary information in Coles' monthly credit card statement deliberately seeks to deceive level 1 and level 2 Financial Literacy  Credit Cardholders into paying only the 2% 'Minimum Monthly Payment' which immediately triggers the above described interest rate of 19.99% on all Purchases for three months.    

Coles "Contract Documents and Credit Guide" [72 pages] for its two MasterCards (administered by GE Money) notes at the top of page 3:

The Writer defies anybody to read the "Contract Documents and Credit Guide" [72 pages] "...carefully and ensure that any additional cardholder also does so."  Requiring each Cardholder to read 72 pages of complex and detailed legal clauses is Unconscionable Conduct when the key information of the real costs and real benefits can be set out in a dozen bullet points on a single page. 

In the afore-mentioned Example 2 - Unconscionable Conduct - Coles 'No Annual Fee MasterCard' and Coles 'Rewards MasterCard', forfeiting the Interest Free Period for three months due to not paying the entire Closing Balance by the Payment Due Date was not transparent  to the Credit Cardholder because that penalty was not "expressed in reasonably plain language, legible, presented clearly and readily available to all parties".

As defined by the ACCC,  Unconscionable Conduct notes 'inter alia' under 'How to avoid engaging in unconscionable conduct':

              "make sure your contracts are thorough, easy to understand, not too lengthy and do not include harsh, unfair or oppressive terms"

              "ensure you have clearly disclosed important or unusual terms or conditions of an agreement"

*    Click on: Example 3 - Unconscionable Conduct - ANZ's 'First Visa Card' and 'Low Interest Visa Card'

ANZ's advertising of its 'First Card' and 'Low Interest Card' seeks to mislead prospective new Cardholders, particularly Financially Uneducated And Vulnerable Australians, that if they pay their 'Closing Balance' (as defined on page 65 of its 98 pages "ANZ Credit Cards - CONDITIONS OF USE | 19.09.2014 CONSUMER CREDIT CARDS") in tiny Arial 9 font that any prospective new 'First Visa Card' or 'Low Interest Visa Card' Credit Cardholder would enjoy "Up to 44 days interest free on purchases^3. as asserted in its webpage at 'Features and benefits'.  But that is not the case.

ANZ First Card offers 0% p.a. interest rate for initial 16 months asserting a savings of $2,001 on a $8,000 Balance Transfer. 

What is not explained in the ANZ offer documents (5 pages posted to the Writer's home address) is that -

A.         the only way to achieve the material savings of $2,001 in interest costs on an $8,000 Balance Transfer is to NOT make any Purchases during the initial 16 months; making Purchases is the fundamental purpose of applying for a Credit Card.  If any Purchases are made whilst ever any part of the Balance Transfer amount @ 0% interest for 16 months remains unpaid, then interest is charged (at the below interest rates) from the date of each Purchase (with no Interest Free Period entitlement):

            *        "First Card" @ 19.74% p.a.

            *        "Low Rate Card" @ 13.49% p.a; and

B          if a Cardholder makes any Purchases and does not repay the Balance Transfer amount 'in toto' he/she pays interest on a  "First Card" @ 19.74% p.a. on all Purchases during that month from the date of each Purchase.  In addition, s/he forfeits the Interest Free Period for the subsequent two months, whereupon a "First Card" Cardholder continues to pay interest at the Usurious Interest Rate of 19.74% p.a. for an additional two months until his/her Interest Free Period is re-installed - a total of three months interest on all Purchases @ 19.74% p.a. from the date of each Purchase.

ANZ recognizes (on page 10 of its 98 pages booklet titled "ANZ Credit Cards - CONDITIONS OF USE | 19.09.2014 CONSUMER CREDIT CARDS") that it has misled many new Cardholders, which includes its First Visa Card Low annual fee $30, into believing that they would enjoy, with regard to the First Visa Card, "Up to 44 interest free days on purchases³" when, in fact, First Visa Cardholders are charged at the Purchase interest rate of 19.74% pa from the date of each Purchase.  This acknowledgement of a misconception  by ANZ is reprinted in yellow background immediately below and evidenced in detail further below in this page:

"A misconception about balance transfers is that a 0% balance transfer means that interest will not be charged on any component of your credit card account. Whilst interest will not be charged on the 0% balance transfer, interest will still be charged in the normal manner on any other debits to your account. For example, interest will be charged on your purchases balance, except to the extent an interest free period applies."

The amount  of the 0% balance transfer will be included in the Closing Balance shown on a relevant statement of account. Accordingly, an interest free period will generally not apply in relation to relevant purchases if you do not pay the full Closing Balance (including the 0% balance transfer) for such a statement of account by the applicable DUE DATE. 

Below is clause 3 under 'Important information' from the below ANZ First Card webpage:

3. Interest free  periods on the purchases do not apply if you do not pay your Closing Balance (or, if applicable, your 'Closing Balance' less Instalment Plan and Buy Now Pay later plan balances) shown on each statement of account in full by the applicable due date. Payments to your account are applied in the order set out in the ANZ Credit Cards Conditions of Use.

ANZ has commenced the words Closing Balance with a capital letter which constitutes a 'Defined Term' or 'Definition'.  ANZ has not provided a definition of Closing Balance in its below extracted webpage advertising its First Visa Card Low annual fee $30. 

ANZ provides the below definition of 'Closing Balance' on page 65 of its 100 pages "ANZ Credit Cards - CONDITIONS OF USE | 19.09.2014 CONSUMER CREDIT CARDS".  (Page 65 commences 48 'Definitions' under heading 'Meaning of words'):

‘Closing Balance’ means, in relation to a statement period, the outstanding balance on the credit card account as at the close of the statement period (and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes the Instalment Plan and Buy Now Pay Later plan balances as at the close of that statement period);

Significantly, ANZ's above 'Definition' of Closing Balance does NOT include 'the amount of any 0% balance transfer' as a part of the Closing Balance which materially flaws ANZ reliance upon page 10 of  "ANZ Credit Cards - CONDITIONS OF USE | 19.09.2014 CONSUMER CREDIT CARDS" [100 pgs] as part of "Important things to know about using your ANZ credit card - Balance transfers can affect how interest is charged on your credit card account" which includes:

"A misconception about balance transfers is that a 0% balance transfer means that interest will not be charged on any component of your credit card account. Whilst interest will not be charged on the 0% balance transfer, interest will still be charged in the normal manner on any other debits to your account. For example, interest will be charged on your purchases balance, except to the extent an interest free period applies."

The amount  of the 0% balance transfer will be included in the Closing Balance shown on a relevant statement of account. Accordingly, an interest free period will generally not apply in relation to relevant purchases if you do not pay the full Closing Balance (including the 0% balance transfer) for such a statement of account by the applicable DUE DATE. 

Having regard to the afore-mentioned inconsistencies about what indebtedness constitutes the Closing Balance, any prospective Cardholder of an ANZ First Visa Card is entitled to believe that if it pays the Closing Balance as defined above that it would enjoy "Up to 44 days interest free on purchases^3. as asserted in its webpage at 'Features and benefits' below.  But that is not the case.

Little wonder that ANZ notes "A misconception about balance transfers is that a 0% balance transfer means that interest will not be charged on any component of your credit card account because ANZ has advertised that "Up to 44 interest free days on purchases3 if the Closing Balance is paid by the Due Date.

ANZ has been mischievous in its Key Facts Sheet for its First Visa Card whereupon too many new customers with a Balance Transfer believed that they would enjoy an Interest Free Period on Purchases provided they have paid their Closing Balance (defined above) by the Due Date.

ANZ has breached its obligations under Regulation 28LFA of the National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Home Loans and Credit Cards) Act 2011 due to a legal drafting error in its definition of Closing Balance which does not include Balance Transfer amount; this omission has resulted in ANZ charging vast amounts of interest at 19.74% p.a. on its 'First Card' and 13.49% p.a. on its 'Low Rate Card' against the terms of its definition of Closing Balance.

As defined by the ACCC,  Unconscionable Conduct notes 'inter alia' under 'How to avoid engaging in unconscionable conduct':

              "make sure your contracts are thorough, easy to understand, not too lengthy and do not include harsh, unfair or oppressive terms"

              "ensure you have clearly disclosed important or unusual terms or conditions of an agreement"

*      Click on: Example 4 - Unconscionable Conduct - Bankwest More MasterCard

Bankwest's "0% p.a. on balance transfer for 18 months" offer letter to Ms. K. Gord_n dated 12 Jan '15 [1 pg] -

a)         informs "Start the year fresh with a great balance transfer offer of 0% for 18 months^, plus be rewarded with up to 50,000 bonus points"

b)         but does not inform the high Purchase rate of 19.99% p.a. and high Cash Advance rate of 21.99% p.a

If a new Bankwest More MasterCardholder makes any Purchase/s, until the Purchase/s and Balance Transfer amount is repaid 'in toto', the Bankwest More MasterCardholder -

(i)         continues to be charged interest @ 19.99% p.a. on the Balance Transfer amount, plus the Purchases from the date of each Purchase, unless both are repaid in full by the Due Date; and

(ii)        forfeits its Interest Free Period.

*      Click on: Example 5 - Unconscionable Conduct - American Express Low Rate Card

Offers a $7,500 or 50% of your approved Credit Limit whichever is less at  0.99% Balance Transfer fee.  After the 6 months, any o/s 'Balance Transfer' amount is charged @ 11.99% p.a, as are Purchases. You have to learn in the exceedingly fine print in 'Terms and Conditions' that Interest free days do not apply if you do not pay your Closing Balance (which includes any outstanding balance transfers, cash advances, purchases and fees) in full by the due date each month.  This key additional cost is not set out in the key features.

*      Click on: Example 6 - Unconscionable Conduct - Citi Rewards Signature Credit Card  Nowhere in the web add, which includes 'Important Information', does it inform the Purchase interest rate of 20.99% p.a.  Nor does it list the annual fee of $395 from 2nd year.  Nor does it inform that there is no Interest Free Period if you have a Balance Transfer.

Citibank's Late Payment Fee (for accounts opened prior to 1 July 2012) of $10 is "Charged when the Total Minimum Payment Due is not paid by Payment Due Date and every 7 days thereafter until the Total Minimum Payment Due is made  Citibank's Key Facts Sheet which confirms the above Purchases interest rate an that the Late Payment Fees is levied every 7 days, is not accessible from this advertisement for Citi Rewards Signature Credit Card.

*      Click on: Example 7 - Unconscionable Conduct - HSBC Platinum Credit Card  

Enjoy 0% p.a. on Balance Transfer for 15 months from non HSBC credit cards (reverts to the variable cash advance rate 21.99% p.a.).  In the Fine Print in 9 font Arial is "There are no interest free days for cash advances or balance transfers.".  Meaning if you utilise the 15 months Balance Transfer @ 0% p.a. option, you pay interest on all Purchases @ 19.99% p.a. from the date of each Purchase.

The Key Facts Sheet notes "Interest-free period - Up to 55 days on purchases".  This is incorrect, as pursuant to clause 21.2 of HSBC Credit Card Conditions of Use - effective 1 April 2016 if the full closing balance is not repaid by the due date, then the Cardholder forfeits the "Interest-free period - Up to 55 days on purchases" for the subsequent month: "until the closing balance of that statement of account and any subsequent statement of account is repaid in full by the due date.".  
 

This Conditions of Use of 72 pages notes on page 2:

"We strongly recommend that you and any additional cardholder read this booklet carefully and retain it for future reference."

It informs that all interest rates, fees and Card Limit 'et al' are in the Schedule which the Definitions note "the schedule that is set out in the letter we sent you advising of our approval of your application for the card".  HSBC "strongly recommend that you read this booklet carefully, but you cannot access the Schedule (referred to 80 times in Conditions of Use) until after the prospective Cardholder has applied On-line', been accepted and paid the Annual Fee.

*      Click on: Example 8 - Unconscionable Conduct  -  Citibank Platinum Card, Citibank Classic Card and Citibank Simplicity Card

The Citibank webpage for the above three Citibank Credit Cards presents the few Benefits and encourages readers to  Apply Now  without reading the 'Important information' that contains 9 Spiders.

*      Click on: Example 9 - Unconscionable Conduct  -  American Express Explorer Credit Card

Features:

*        "Earn 100,000 Bonus Points³"  "if you spend $1,500 on your Card within the first 2 months."

*        "Start exploring with a $400 Travel Credit every year⁴"

Terms And Conditions are in tiny 1em font (8½ Helvetica font) and hidden at end.

The 12 Terms And Conditions are displayed only three clauses at a time  A reader has to scroll down and cannot read the entire T&Cs in their entirety, but only in small sections. 

Some Credit Card Issuers deploy the small window scroll so that readers cannot look at all the terms and conditions a page at a time, rather 12 lines at a time in tiny font. Often in dark grey font not black.

Clause 2 in Terms And Conditions notes that if you have a Balance Transfer amount, there is no Interest Free Period.  So the metre is running at 20.74% interest rate on all Purchases, from the date of each Purchase.