A sensational case filed in the Federal Court

It was a huge day yesterday. GetUp members taking on the might and power of the big banks gained national attention with coverage in The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, Channel 9 News, Today Tonight, the ABC -- even Mornings with Kerri-Anne! GetUp members are swelling the ranks of the biggest legal class action in Australian history to hold the big banks to account for charging us unjustifiable penalty fees. Click here to become part of it.

Under Australian law, only governments have a right to fine us, but we've been getting slugged with charges of up to $60 by our banks for small lapses like overdrawing an account or being one day late on a credit card payment, which costs the banks next to nothing. That's an abuse of power and by it's very nature hits the poorest Australians the hardest.

But we believe the law is on our side and just yesterday a massive class action law suit was filed against ANZ for charging their customers these improper fees. Similar suits are being prepared against 11 other banks. Thousands of GetUp members have already signed up, and the more who join them, the more pressure we put on the banks to do the right thing and stop charging these fees.

Find out more and if you have ever been charged one of these fees sign up here (you can still sign up for the ANZ case or for any of the other banks):

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/JoinTheAction

During the election, we saw what we could do when we pressed our rights in the courts--securing the vote for 98,000 Australians. Now we have the power to put an end to unlawful bank penalty fees by joining a massive class action lawsuit.

Since we launched this campaign, we've been amazed and saddened at the personal stories flowing in from GetUp members going through tough times, made tougher by unfair bank fees and practices. This is just one story of many:

"When my partner was injured we had to live off just my salary. Making matters worse, ANZ would slap us with high penalty fees for small things, like when my pay got deposited a day late (not my fault!) and there were insufficient funds to cover a direct debit. I even got charged a $280 fee for being one day late on my mortgage. These fees took away money for food, petrol and basic necessities for my family during difficult times."
--Natasha, GetUp member

By standing together we can help everyone being affected by these penalty fees--sign up here:

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/JoinTheAction

In our recent member survey, 96% of GetUp members supported campaigning on greater social responsibility by business and corporations--now we can do that in a big way by joining this action.

Thank you for standing up,
The GetUp Team

PS - We are not alone on this campaign. The class action is being brought by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and coordinated by litigation clients IMF and Financial Redress. We also announced yesterday that we are joining forces with consumer group CHOICE, and think tank the Australia Institute, so that we can pursue this campaign through consumer action, political action and legal action. Right now, you can join by signing up to this landmark case.