The credit card providers giving Australians the most grief
According to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, a total of 3,570 complaints were lodged to the independent body between 1 November 2018 and 30 June 2019 that dealt with credit cards.
Credit cards made up nearly a quarter (24.5 per cent) of all product complaints directed at the banking sector, the largest proportion of any product type.
Here are the top five most complained about credit card providers, as laid out by the authority:
1. Citigroup
Citigroup looks after the Citibank and Citigroup cards, as well as Coles MasterCard, CUSCAL/Card services, Qantas credit cards, Virgin Money and Virgin Saver.
The group had 682 complaints progressed about its cards, and resolved 306 of them by agreement.
2. American Express Australia
American Express and Amex alone saw 406 complaints progressed against it, giving the large credit provider a ranking of second place.
A total of 406 complaints were progressed against it, with 197 of them resolved by agreement.
A further 27 were resolved in favour of the complainant, and 33 were resolved in favour of American Express.
3. Latitude Finance Australia
The only medium-sized credit card provider in the top five complaints-wise, Latitude Finance Australia is also known to customers by various names that include Creditline, GE Capital, GE Money and Go MasterCard.
It saw 392 complaints progressed under each of the above-named brands, and resolved 122 of them by agreement.
Just 13 complaints were resolved in favour of the complainant, and the same figure was reported for complaints resolved for the financial provider.
4. Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The biggest organization to make the list, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia credit card product suite received just 288 complaints, with 282 of them closed by AFCA in the time frame.
More than 120 of the complaints were resolved by agreement, with just six complaints resolved in favour of complainants.
A further 16 were resolved in favour of the Commonwealth Bank.
5. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
The big four bank is responsible for branded credit cards including Aussie credit cards, One Direct and Origin Investment, as well as its own umbrella-branded suite of ANZ offerings.
It saw 281 complaints progressed against it in the time frame, with 141 of them resolved by agreement.
Out of the top five, ANZ saw the third most complaints resolved against it in favour of the complainant at 18, with a further 17 resolved in favour of the financial service provider.
Originally published on nestegg.com.au
By Grace Ormsby
November 14 2019
