THE Federal Court has ruled that a mortgage calculator supplied by the Whyte Corporation was misleading and deceptive.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Whyte Corporation and Gavin Whyte contravened the ASIC Act by representing that the calculator, EquityExcel Plan allowed borrowers to pay off their mortgage sooner and make substantial savings with no increase in their monthly payments or changes in their lifestyle.ASIC alleged that this representation was misleading, or likely to mislead, as a borrower could only pay off their mortgage sooner or make substantial savings using the EquityExcel Plan if they made considerable additional repayments over and above their minimum monthly repayments.The Court has made orders restraining Whyte from continuing to make the representation and ordered the company to write to their customers explaining the terms of the Court Orders and to notify ASIC if they considered that they had been mislead by Whyte Corporation and had suffered loss.
ASIC’s senior executive leader Greg Kirk said for consumers the key message is that the only way to pay off your loan sooner is by moving to a loan with a cheaper interest rate or by making extra repayments.
Australian Property Journal
