Structured remediation models needed
If banks are serious about rebuilding trust, they should introduce structured remediation processes where independent advice is given to aggrieved customers about what happened to their money and what they are entitled to recover, according to plaintiff law firm, Slater and Gordon.
This approach, which had been used successfully overseas, could involve an independent and qualified third party, such a s a law firm, advising customers on their rights and possible paths forward.
Slater and Gordon, chief executive, John Somerville, said that banks needed to pursue this model if they wanted to both restore trust and avoid a “flow of class actions [that] would likely be relentless”.
"Banks can't expect to say sorry and then dust their hands. If they are serious about making people whole then they need to bring in an independent structure,” Somerville said.
"If there is one thing the Royal Commission has demonstrated it is that the power imbalance between customer and bank is too wide. You can't rely on that power dynamic to deliver justice in the form of fair remediation."
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