ANZ Debt Collectors caught out

ANZ Bank may have acted illegally by harassing debtors and seizing money from their accounts in breach of consumer guidelines. Confidential bank files reveal several cases involving breaches of consumer laws and industry guidelines by the ANZ’s debt collections department. Some of the files allegedly include a history of phone harassment and the inappropriate issuing of legal threats and default notices to debtors who have already agreed to make a repayment or face financial hardship.

The files support claims by bank insiders that the breaches may be systemic and fuelled by a relentless drive to maximise debtor repayments. Bank insiders recently contacted the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, which begun examining their claims several weeks ago. An ANZ spokesman said its debt collectors had breached ”compliance obligations” in ”a small number of isolated cases” but denied it was systemic.

In another case, NAB debt collectors threatened a woman, despite knowing another woman with a similar name was responsible for the debt. After the case was raised with the NAB yesterday, the bank said the woman’s legal fees would be refunded. Last July, five staff in the ANZ debt collection department were disciplined after it was revealed they had been involved in setting up a bogus Facebook page to track debtors. The conduct of the debt chasers working for the ANZ and NAB has prompted calls for better oversight and regulation of debt collection, which annually attempts to recover about $6 billion from an estimated 12 million accounts. Banks are yet to implement recommended changes to their code of conduct, including one which would ban the practice of seizing lump sums from accounts belonging to financially disadvantaged debtors whose other accounts are in arrears. If you are a creditor, it can have serious implications if the person collecting debts on your behalf is acting inappropriately. It can actually lead to a higher cost end process for you because of the legal problems that are created by a situation like this.