Banks not giving out key home loan fact sheets: Choice

An investigation by consumer group Choice has found that banks are neglecting their duties to give out key loan fact sheets.

Only one out of 18 Sydney bank branches visited by Choice spokesman Matt Levey provided a copy of the fact sheet when he requested information about comparable fees and interest rates.

A key fact sheet helps borrowers compare the home loan they are being offered with other similar loans to help them make an informed decision.

Since January 2012 mortgage providers must give customers a key facts sheet on request.

"We ended up with a lot of paraphernalia ... a lot of handwritten notes, a lot of glossy brochures with photos of bank CEOs," Levey told the ABC.

"We got one home loan fact sheet. We say that's not good enough.

"If the banks were serious about standing behind their products and serious about competing, then they'd be providing Australian consumers with the information they needed to shop around."

Levey says he did not ask for the fact sheet by name, but says Choice does not believe it is realistic to expect customers to ask for the fact sheet by its official name: the federal government's key home loan fact sheet.

“We think it's enough to go in and say, ‘Can we have some information to go away and compare loans?'

"If that doesn't work, then we think the requirement needs to change."

To learn more about refinancing, sign up for the free Property Observer refinancing webinar on Wednesday at 12.30.

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