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2007
No DJs Amex card for Kiwi
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday March 3, 2011
THE insurance company allied with the David Jones-branded American Express credit card has been rapped over the knuckles, with a tribunal finding it guilty of indirect racial discrimination against a New Zealander living in Sydney.David Richard Faulkner didn't get the chance to "shop like Megan Gayle" with a David Jones American Express credit card, because in order to avail himself of the bundle of card and insurance, he had to be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a Special Category Visa holder."It is clear that people not of New Zealand citizenship, such as Australian citizens, would not have been treated in this way by ACE Insurance Limited," the Administrative Decisions Tribunal said."The effect of the imposition of the requirement was that Mr Faulkner, and those New Zealand citizens who were also non-protected SCV holders, were not able to obtain a David Jones American Express card together with the benefit of the protection offered by the American Express Repayment Protection Policy."They were denied this benefit which was made available to others. Whilst the cover under the AERP Policy was essentially limited to the amount owing on the policy holder's David Jones American Express card account ... the policy could be said to provide 'peace of mind and additional financial security for [the holder] when [the holder] need[s] it most.' "In Mr Faulkner's case, the peace of mind related to more than $10,000 worth of Luxaflex blinds which he had planned to put on the card, using the long interest-free period.The tribunal concluded that by refusing to supply insurance services to Mr Faulkner in August and September 2009, ACE Insurance Limited had unlawfully discriminated on the grounds of race. It did not uphold two further complaints.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
