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ISCOVER
Jessica Darnbrough
The consumer watchdog CHOICE has dumped One Big Switch in favour of a new controversial campaign that urges borrowers to abandon the big four banks.
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CHOICE has "guaranteed" to help Australians “find a better deal with independent and trusted information on home loans, credit cards, savings and transaction accounts”.
“We think it’s wrong that at a time of record profits, Australia’s major banks are willing to take their customers for granted. The major banks rely on perceptions that switching is too much hassle or that there are no better deals out there. But experience shows that consumers can save by also ‘thinking small’, and moving your money is now easier than before,” a CHOICE spokesperson said.
“Move Your Money is sending the ‘big four’ bank CEOs a message that Australian consumers are prepared to look for a better deal, and if they find one with a smaller institution, they will ditch their big bank.”
Over the weekend, CHOICE announced that it had closed down its One Big Switch campaign, after just 2,000 Australians refinanced with another lender.
More than 40,000 Australians had registered their interest in the August 2011 campaign, however it failed to attract the backing of any of the big four banks. Over the following months the initiative stumbled as it struggled to find funders with non-bank lenders Mortgage EZY, RESIMAC, Firstmac and Mortgage Port the only lenders willing to back the scheme.
Speaking about the campaign earlier this month, Mortgage EZY’s Garry Driscoll told The Adviser that while One Big Switch had not achieved a high success rate, what it did do was stimulate good discussion in the industry.
“The One Big Switch campaign certainly provoked some robust debate in the market. From our perspective what CHOICE and One Big Switch were attempting was an ideal fit for non-banks and Mortgage Ezy in particular. Something we believe to be true is that the best advice and service is delivered through professional and motivated brokers,” Mr Driscoll said.
