Let's make banking fair

Becky's^* story: Our adviser took $160K. We lost everything

^*Becky's image changed to protect her identity.

After selling our business 14 years ago, my husband and I approached our financial adviser.

He recommended investing in two agribusiness schemes, Wilmott (forestry) and Rewards (fruit growing), which he touted as long-term, very safe, low-risk investments, government-accredited and with a five-star rating. If the schemes failed, our investment would be underwritten by the value of the trees and fruits we owned. A long-term, very safe way of paying into our pension, we were told.

After 12 years (over which we paid tens of thousands a year in management fees and interest), both schemes failed and went into liquidation. Wilmott called in receivers who sold all the assets [trees], then sold the lease on the land to the bank. The bank have aggressively pursued us, charging exorbitant interest, ever since.

My husband was bankrupted by them four years ago and, despite trying to settle with them, the bank is now bankrupting me as well. This has blighted our lives, destroyed our future, the future we planned for our children, caused 14 years of enormous stress, depression and strain on our marriage.

The financial adviser pocketed $80k commission on each of us.

We're good people. We tried to do the right thing. We've always tried to do the right thing. And yet we've lost everything we owned because of this decision we made on the advice of a financial adviser.

Stories submitted to choice.com.au in response to our survey about banking and financial services.

Hugh's^* story: My son was bankrupted by irresponsible lending

^*Hugh's name and image changed to protect his son's identity.

In 2010 and 2011, one of the big four banks allowed my son, Michael, to run up a number of credit card debts in excess of $50,000 [well above his expected yearly income of about $35,000] despite the fact that the bank was fully aware that his weekly income was no more than $675 per week.

The bank at one stage rolled two credit card debts into a seven-year personal loan with an interest rate of 17.4% p.a. and still issued him with a further credit card.

My son was never informed of the financial implications of these arrangements,

with the end result that he was bankrupted at a time when he and his partner were expecting a baby.

[Postscript: Michael is now out of bankruptcy, still working for the same employer of some 10 years, and living with his partner and two young children.]

Stories submitted to choice.com.au in response to our survey about banking and financial services.

Jasmin's^* story: We were left sleeping in squalor by claim denial

^*Jasmin's name and image changed to protect her identity

[During severe floods in Qld in 2011,] the downstairs of our home became unlivable as water rushed through downstairs. We woke to find our two children asleep and their beds surrounded by water.

Our insurer refused to cover us. We had flood cover, but apparently not stormwater cover. We lived halfway down a hill in Yarraman, Qld. A metre of water came through, the school below us was also affected, as well as surrounding houses, but we still weren't covered (others were).

The insurer said it was our poor drainage that made the water come through. Yet everyone else around us had similar damage and they were covered.

It took them eight months to decide that they wouldn't cover us! Eight months while I was pregnant and had two children without bedrooms!

It financially ruined us, and seven years later we are only just starting to get back on track.

Stories submitted to choice.com.au in response to our survey about banking and financial services.