If you have a credit card account or a loan with a bank and pay interest, you can ask the bank to stop charging you interest twice.
When challenged about the double interest payment, banks will justify it as follows:
When you took out the loan or asked for a credit card, you agreed to pay both interest and principal and for the bank to debit the interest from your account. You agree with both these conditions.
From the bank's perspective, the interest is new money they have earned and are entitled to a capital gain. Hence, they debit your account for interest but do not credit your account for the loan extension, requiring you to pay the interest again. You claim that they have broken the agreement on the loan extension by not crediting your loan account or some other account of yours with money from the loan extension.
It's important to note that the new money the bank claims as a capital gain originates from the government, not the bank. Banks have an agreement with the government to create new money with loans. They debit the loan account and supply the money to the borrower through another account or by paying a merchant with the money from the loan extension. However, they mislead you by not crediting the loan account with the interest, leaving you to pay the interest again with existing money. The bank reports to the tax office that they had a capital gain because their loan created new money as a capital gain. This is deceptive and wrong. The extra interest payment is NOT a capital gain but income to the bank, and they should pay income tax on it.
If banks refuse to charge interest twice, you have the right to request that they not debit your account but send you an invoice - or equivalent to allow you to pay with existing money. The banks may claim it is a capital gain and continue debiting your account, but it is unlikely; hence, you will only pay interest once. If banks do not comply with your request, you can escalate the issue by contacting the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. This independent body is there to help consumers like you resolve disputes with financial institutions.
If you find this information helpful, I encourage you to share this update or the petition with someone facing similar mortgage or credit card payment challenges. By spreading awareness, we can empower more consumers to take control of their financial situations and pay less for bank debt.