BankWest faces class action over excessive fees

Law firm Maurice Blackburn has confirmed that over 6,600 BankWest customers have been added to Australia’s largest class action. Along with Commonwealth, ANZ, Westpac, St George, NAB, Citibank and BankSA, BankWest is being sued by a combined 171,000 customers looking to recoup more than $220 million. The banks are accused of gouging customers over late payments, overdrafts and other penalties. 

Paul Gillett, senior associate at Maurice Blackburn, has said that Australia’s big four banks had charged more than $1.3 billion in exception fees in 2008-2009. In a clear breach of contract, customers were being charged $45 or more for exception fees, which cost the bank only a few cents each to process.

The class action will be based on the legal argument that when a bank seeks redress for a customer breaking a contract, it may only be able to recover a reasonable estimate of the cost, not the much higher fees that the banks have been charging. Such fees would constitute a penalty charged by the bank, and thus be lawfully recoverable.

Maurice Blackburn has already had some success. On 5 December 2011, the Federal Court found in favour of ANZ account holders who were charged late credit card fees.

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For more information in this area, see the following article:

- Judge clears path for class action on ANZ bank fees