After winning a $47 million settlement in November last year, Slater and Gordon have urged ANZ customers to register for a potential share of the compensation payment, which is subject to Federal Court approval.
In November last year, Slater and Gordon settled three class actions against three major Australian banks and their insurers, securing settlements for up to a million customers.
The class actions were brought after customers of CBA, ANZ, and Westpac were sold consumer credit insurance when taking out credit cards and personal loans, only to find they were ineligible to make a claim.
Slater and Gordon first filed class action claims against Westpac and ANZ in February 2020, based on claims of unconscionable conduct, inappropriate advice, misleading or deceptive conduct and unjust enrichment, alleging that customers were sold worthless insurance by both banks.
Just a few months later, in June, a third class action was launched by the firm against CBA, after the bank admitted that the insurance products were worthless, despite being sold to hundreds of thousands of customers.
This news followed a similar class action filed by Slater and Gordon against NAB, which settled for $49.5 million in the Federal Court in May 2020, regarding credit card and personal loan insurance.
Slater and Gordon class actions senior associate Alex Blennerhassett said ANZ customers were now being asked to register with the firm to determine whether they were eligible for a share of the settlement, which was reached without any admission of wrongdoing.
“We have already notified hundreds of thousands of customers via post and email to register for potential compensation,” she said.
“We’re now making a public appeal to any past or present ANZ customers who were sold CCI insurance to register with us as they too may be entitled to compensation.”
The class action alleged that many ANZ customers were led to believe that the insurance was free or mandatory, and in many cases, policies were added to loans and credit cards without the customers’ consent or without them being informed that the insurance was optional.
ANZ and its insurance subsidiaries OnePath Life and OnePath General have contributed $42 million of the settlement, while QBE paid the remaining $5 million.
Affected ANZ customers should contact Slater and Gordon to register.
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
