What banks are taking from you

Traditionally, GetUp campaigns have focused on holding politicians accountable - but of course we know that power doesn't reside with government alone. So when 96% of GetUp members said they support GetUp campaigning for greater social responsibility by business and corporations, we knew we had a mandate to think big.


The first step: we're backing a class action lawsuit against the big banks to recoup for consumers over $1 billion dollars a year in unfair bank fees - fees that hit the most vulnerable Australians the hardest. Do you want to add your name to the case?

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

At one time or another, most of us have been charged a "penalty fee" if we've accidentally overdrawn our bank account or been a few days late in paying a credit card bill. But by definition these fees - which can be $30, $40, $60 a transaction - hit the most vulnerable Australians the hardest.

These fees aren't just irritating or unfair: there's a strong argument to be made that they're actually unlawful, because corporations don't have the right to penalise their customers, only to recoup their own costs when required. When we accidentally overdraw a credit card or account, the actual cost to banks is just a few dollars, but they charge in extreme excess of that. So why do banks pad their already profitable bottom line at the expense of their most vulnerable customers? Simple. Because they can.

The banks think they can get away with it, because we don't have the time or energy to individually dispute every one of these charges. But if we each take a moment to act collectively, as hundreds of thousands of bank customers, we can put an end to these penalty fees for good.

Can you get behind the case? http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/jointheaction

Together, we've recently proven the power of going directly to the courts, when we won the right for an extra 100,000 Australians to vote in the Federal Election and reduced barriers to online enrolment for millions of Australians in elections to come. Now we're backing a class action lawsuit, prepared by Maurice Blackburn law firm and litigation clients IMF and Financial Redress, with a simple but powerful message: you've made a mint from unfair charges to vulnerable Australians, and it's time for a refund.

Want to add your name to the case? http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/jointheaction

Sometimes, we stand up to abuses of power and negligence on complex global issues like refugees and climate change. And sometimes, we feel called to stand up to abuses of power driven by simple greed, right in our own backyard. For far too long, it's been business as usual to pad billion-dollar profits at the expense of vulnerable people. But thanks to you, those days are numbered.

Thank you for adding your voice,

The GetUp Team

PS: If you've never been personally affected by penalty fees, can you stand with those who have by emailing your bank CEO to ask that this predatory practice finally stop? A $40 penalty fee might can be a devastating burden to some Australians on penions or lower incomes. We've heard from people who've been slugged hundreds of dollars in fees, when the banks only have a right to charge a few dollars in expenses. Click here to find email details for your bank CEO.