St George Bank Swanns Around

Hi Scott,

I am having all sorts of problems trying to cancel the credit card insurance that was added to my St George credit card when I first took it out. I was told that, as I was a single mum, I would not get the card without it. It is just under $90 per month! I cancelled it over a month ago and they are still debiting my card. St George say it’s not them and to call Swann Insurance, who say it’s not them. In the meantime it has overdrawn my account. Please help.

Louise

Hi Louise,

The St George Bank website says: “Please note Credit Card Protect is no longer sold.”Do you know why they’ve stopped selling it?

It’s not because for years it was known in the industry as ‘junk insurance’ and was hard-sold to unsuspecting customers. That’s exactly why they sold it in the first place ‒ they made a fortune out of it!

No, the reason the banks stopped flogging it is because it got the Royal Commission treatment, and, as a result, banks and insurance companies could be looking at stumping up more than $1 billion in refunds.

The Consumer Action Law Centre has set up a free website that makes it easy to claim: demandarefund.com

Yet you don’t have time to wait.

I can’t imagine how distressing this must be for you. You’re a struggling single parent, and you’ve done the right thing, but still had your account has been overdrawn over Easter ... and then probably been hit with more fees!

And it sounds like they’re giving you the run-around: I mean, who cares about a lowly single mother, right?

So let’s you and I take this to the top.

Ross Miller is the General Manager of St George Bank.

Here’s an old party trick: when you mention a bank executive’s name in print, it pops up in their media tracking service. Which means this column will soon land on his desk.

So, Ross Miller, I think you should refund this single mother all the outrageously expensive premiums she’s paid, plus any overdrawn fees or penalties.

Over to you, Ross Miller of St George Bank.

Scott