St George Turns Into A Fee Dragon
The Age
Tuesday May 23, 2006
ST GEORGE Bank has increased fees on its most popular deposit account despite attacks on bank fees from government and consumer advocates.
St George customers will pay $2, rather than $1.50, every time they use an ATM machine that does not belong to St George.In addition, telephone or internet transactions will be counted against customers' fee-free allowance. On the bank's Freedom account affected by the changes, customers may make 10 free ATM or teller transactions a month. Now, internet and telephone transactions will also count towards customers' 10-transaction limit but will incur a fee.St George spokeswoman Lara Daniels said customers with St George mortgages, or who held specialised accounts, would not be affected."We see most of these fee increases as avoidable," she said. Australian Consumers Association general manager Gordon Renouf said the changes brought St George into line with Westpac, which increased its foreign ATM fee from $1.50 to $2. He said the changes to online banking were "stealthy".
© 2006 The Age