[I am forwarding this on to the list at the request of FCRC] MEDIA RELEASE 21 JUNE 2000 CONSUMER GROUP INVESTIGATING ELECTRONIC BANKING Financial counsellors and consumer support workers will take to the streets next week to encourage bank customers to have their say about electronic banking. FCRC members will target Flinders Street Station on the morning of Tuesday the 27th June (8am - 9am) to distribute their survey on electronic banking. The survey has been developed in response to a Senate inquiry into electronic banking. 'Financial counsellors and consumer support workers are seeing more and more clients who are suffering at the hands of the banks, while banks continue to rake in record profits. Bank closures, bank mergers, increased costs for over the counter services and a push by banks to make people move to electronic banking, has contributed to many consumer's feeling angry and powerless' commented Sharon Barker, FCRC's Policy Coordinator. The survey asks questions about fees on ATM's, telephone banking and internet banking and whether banks provide useful advice about fees increases. Specifically, the survey asks respondents to comment on whether bank fee increases are justified at present, whether ATM's should be multilingual and whether banks should tell customers about the costs of each electronic transaction prior to them proceeding. The survey is available at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fcrc/surveys/banking/ or by telephoning 9614 5433 and runs until the 30th June. For more information contact: Sharon Barker (Policy Coordinator) 9614 5433 or 0409 432 932 Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink ------- End of forwarded message -------
