BNZ lottery switch upsets saver

By KEVIN TAYLOR

The BNZ is being criticised for unilaterally converting the savings accounts of 150,000 customers into a new account offering only entries in lottery draws.

Retired police sergeant Wally Brown, of Whangaparaoa, is so outraged he is considering moving his $35,000 account elsewhere, possibly to Kiwibank.

"It's an obscene abuse of the BNZ's position. I find it highly insulting and offensive."

Ironically, Mr Brown is also a shareholder in the BNZ's parent, National Australia Bank.

The BNZ last month sent him a letter telling him: "You could become a millionaire just by having a bank account."

The letter said his Cash Draw Saver account would on March 28 become a Ready Money account and no longer earn interest, at present running at 1 per cent.

BNZ's general manager of personal financial services, Chris Black, yesterday rejected criticism of the bank's actions, saying the new account was what customers wanted.

But Consumers' Institute chief executive David Russell said the BNZ was not giving customers a choice.

"Ethically, I think it's quite wrong. You don't take away something a customer has got and put them in a lottery as a replacement."

"Now they are going to have a chance to win more, but we all know lotteries benefit a very small number of people at the expense of a majority."

Mr Black said the change was part of a refined range of transaction and savings accounts announced last month, which had come about from customer demands. He said it was not unethical.

The new account offered $5.8 million a year in prizes compared with $3 million for the old account.

But he would not say what the bank would save from not paying interest to the account holders any more, nor would he say how much the 150,000 customers had deposited.

Mr Brown said BNZ staff at the Whangaparaoa branch had told him other customers had been angry about the changes.

Mr Black said the new account had received good feedback, but there had been a few complaints.

The bank's customers wanted to be rewarded and the BNZ was in the business of acquiring and retaining customers, he said.

Mr Russell said the BNZ appeared to want to rid itself of small customers. "What other conclusions can you draw? Other banks are actively doing their best to hang on to their customers."

He said banks could afford to lose 80 per cent of their customers and still be profitable.

Despite the BNZ's actions, Mr Brown said he would not sell his NAB shares as it was intelligent to have shares overseas.

WestpacTrust spokeswoman Bridgit Vivian said the bank had the long-running Save and Win account with a 0.5 per cent interest rate and the chance to win one of 12 cars each month.

ANZ spokesman Steve Fisher said his bank did not have an account offering just prizes and zero interest, but it ran Bonus Bonds.