One million New Zealanders are potentially eligible to join the action which is being co-ordinated by  Australian law firm Slater & Gordon and New Zealand lawyer Andrew Hooker. A litigation funding company, Litigation Lending Services (LLS), is backing the claim.
The firms say that the fee customers are charged for missing payment should tally with what it costs the banks to provide the services and not be excessive. Over 300,000 claimants joined in a similar case brought in Australia.

Privileged position

In an interview with 3news, Mr  Hooker says that the banks are ‘in the privileged position of having access to customers’ funds and can just extract these fees from customers without much of a right  of reply.’ He added that they could also rely on individuals not  taking the banks to court. The actions will be entirely funded by LLS with no legal bill for claimants if the case is lost.