2021 STARTS WITH WESTPAC UNDER INVESTIGATION BY...

2021 STARTS WITH WESTPAC UNDER INVESTIGATION BY...

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4 September 2020

Dear (Redacted)

Complainants Mr (Redacted) and Mrs (Redacted)

Financial firm Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac)

Case number 646231

I refer to your complaint with Westpac BankingCorporation. We have considered your complaint and I have enclosed ourdetermination for your information.

“The AFCApanel is satisfied that the bank’s (Westpac-ASX:WBC) conduct breached thefollowing:

•clause 3.2 of the 2013 Code of Banking Practice (Code), and

• section912A of the Corporations Act (Corporations Act).”

Any questions?

If you have any questions or want more information about thiscomplaint, please quote the case number when you:

• call: 1800 931 678

• email: [email protected]

Neva Skilton

Ombudsman (Panel Chair)

Australian Financial Complaints Authority

AFCA Determination Reports-4^thSept 2020

“TheAFCA panel is satisfied that the bank’s (Westpac-ASX:WBC) conduct breached thefollowing:

• clause 3.2 of the 2013 Code ofBanking Practice (Code), and

• section 912A of the CorporationsAct (Corporations Act).

The AFCA panel is satisfied that thebank’s (Westpac) conduct has not caused the complainants to suffer any directfinancial loss…”

Panthera

“Based onthe available information, the AFCA Panel is satisfied that the financial firmshould have stopped all debt collection activity when Mr S emailed it on 25January 2016 and disputed liability…”

“Based onthe available information, the AFCA Panel is satisfied that the financial firmshould have stopped all debt collection activity when Mr S emailed it on 25January 2016 and disputed liability…”

“The AFCA Panelis satisfied the ultimate responsibility for the debt collection activityundertaken by the financial firm rests with the bank.”

“This AFCA Determinationis in favour of the complainants in that it finds that the financial firm made someerrors.”

CreditCorp

Visa CardDebt xxxx645

“On 5December 2015, the bank sold the credit card debt to a debt collection agency(company A).

“In December2016, the financial firm acquired company A.”

“The AFCAPanel considers company A should have stopped all debt collection activityafter it was first contacted by Mr S on 5 January 2016.”

“While thebank agreed to buy-back the credit card debt from company A in February 2016,it did not properly do so until February 2019.

Company Aappropriately queried the status of the buy-back with the bank, but its systemrecords the buy-back was declined.

“The panelis satisfied that the ultimate responsibility for the errors by company A andthe financial firm rests with the bank.

This isbecause in March 2019, the bank successfully completed the buy-back request ofthe credit card debt from the financial firm.

“When itre-purchased the credit card debt, the bank assumed responsibility for theactions of the companies to whom the credit card debt was assigned.

“Further, itwas the bank’s initial error in selling the credit card that caused the debtcollection activity.

“Thisdetermination is in favour of the complainant, in that it finds the financialfirm made errors.