Finance

CHOICE’s One Big Switch or One Big Business

Danny Masri - Monday, August 01, 2011

On Sunday ‘One Big Bank Switch’ was launch by Consumer advocate group CHOICE and Lachlan Harris, who was Kevin Rudd's chief media adviser when he was prime minister. One Big Switch plans to use the buying power of 1000 borrowers to lever a better mortgage deal from the banks.

“We want to get millionaires’ rates for ordinary mums and dads,” Lachlan Harris, told The Sunday Telegraph.  

This has little to do with Choice advocating for consumers and more about One Big Switch making commission from people switching their loans and Choice receiving part of that commission via a referral fee.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn has been a vocal critic of “dollar draining commissions” being paid on mortgages, superannuation accounts and insurance policies.  CHOICE has sold its soul to a slick marketing outfit that are spinning their multi million dollar new business venture into ‘Consumer Advocacy’.

Harris has proved effective with majority of the press basically re-writing the CHOICE press release and heralding this as ‘a world first’ consumer movement fighting cost of living pressures.

This campaign is all a load of rubbish.

The idea that you can “group buy” a home loan for thousands of people is ridiculous. Anyone that has applied for a loan knows that banks need to individually assess and verify each application and your interest rate is determined by taking into account your personal income, equity and credit history along with the feature you need in a loan.

The chief executive of the Bankers' Association, Stephen Munchenberg, says the campaign is a gimmick and “At the moment, demand for home loans is down so banks are very, very keen to keep customers and to attract new customers so just the weight of that competition means that all customers have got more bargaining power today than perhaps they have in the past.”

Consumers are always sceptical of Banks and Insurance companies, and that’s why they look CHOICE and others to give them independent information. However with the stunt, CHOICE ceased to be part of the solution and became part of the problem, and looking to profit from it.

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