How electric vehicles just got more affordable for essential workers
Essential workers can now save up to $8000 on electric vehicle loans, Facebook fined $50 million for privacy breach, and HSBC failed to protect customers against scammers. Here are five things you may have missed this week.
Essential workers get more affordable rates on EV car loans
Electric vehicles (EV) may just have become within financial reach of essential workers and those earning below $100,000 annually.
It's thanks to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) contributing $150 million to CommBank's EV Access Program, which supports a discounted loan rate for new and used EVs priced up to $55,000 as well as EV home charging gear.
Under the program, CommBank customers can save between 1.0% and 5.0% for EV specific loans compared to the bank's regular car loans.
On a loan of $40,000, a 5% rate discount could see customers save more than $8,000 in interest over a seven-year term.
CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth says, "The latest research shows that one in three Australians is considering buying an EV in the next five years, but price remains a key barrier."
The program is pitched at workers earning less than $100,000 a year, as well as police, teachers, firefighters, health care, and other essential workers.
Facebook to pay record $50 million settlement
13 million Australians use Facebook - and some may be entitled to a stake in a $50 million settlement being paid by Facebook's parent company Meta.
The settlement relates to a Facebook app - This Is Your Digital Life, which gathered personal details of users and their friends. The data was then sold to consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, and used for political advertising.
The settlement is the result of a lengthy legal battle first launched in 2020 by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd, says, "Today's settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia."
The $50 million in funds will be available to people who were in Australia for more than 30 days between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015, and who either installed the This is Your Digital Life app, or who were Facebook friends of someone who did.
An estimated 300,000 people could be eligible for a share in the payout.
Meta is required to get in touch with anyone who may be impacted. Details for accessing the payment scheme will be made public in the second quarter of 2025.
HSBC Australia sued for failing to protect customers from scams
Investment regulator ASIC is suing HSBC Bank Australia, alleging that the bank failed to protect customers scammed out of millions of dollars.
Between January 2020 and August 2024, HSBC received around 950 customer reports of unauthorised transactions, resulting in losses of about $23 million.
ASIC alleges the unauthorised transactions often occurred when scammers gained access to customer accounts by impersonating HSBC staff.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says, "We allege HSBC Australia's failings were widespread and systemic, and the bank failed to protect its customers.
"We allege that from at least January 2023, HSBC Australia was aware of the risks of unauthorised transactions occurring and that there were gaps in their fraud controls. This resulted in some customers getting scammed out of $90,000 or more.
Adding salt to the wound, ASIC alleges that HSBC Australia let its customers down when they needed help most by dragging the chain taking any action.
The bank allegedly took 145 days on average to investigate customers' reports that they'd been scammed.
Black Friday sales dish up a serve of dodgy advertising
Black Friday sales drove a 5.7% increase in spending on household goods in November, but the bargains may not have been as good as they first appeared.
Consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has uncovered a variety of dodgy advertising practices related to the Black Friday weekend.
In an investigation sparked by consumer feedback, the ACCC identified claims of 'store wide' discounts when only select items were on sale, as well as potentially misleading 'was/now' pricing, and dubious claims about the value of discounts on offer.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe says the ACCC has asked a number of retailers to justify their advertising claims, and is sending a warning to retailers ahead of the post-Christmas sales to comply with the law in any claims they make.
It's a reminder to shoppers not to get carried away with the hype, but instead take a close look at whether Boxing Day deals deliver real savings.
Homeowners make record $295,000 profit on sales
2024 has been a bumper year for property, and while price growth is cooling nationally, that didn't stop home owners pocketing a record $295,000 median profit on homes resold in the September quarter.
While 95% of homes resold nationally made a profit, there were winners and losers.
It was almost impossible to make a loss in Brisbane, where 99.4% of homes resold for a profit.
Sydney topped the leaderboard of gains, with a median profit of $370,000 on homes resold.
However, Darwin took the wooden spoon, with only 68.8% of resales making money.
Apartments were around three times more likely to make a loss on resale than houses, and profits tend to be smaller. The median gain from house resales in the quarter was $345,000 compared to $200,000 among units.
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