Huge class action over credit card fees

Hundreds of thousands of bank customers could benefit from the broadest class action in Australian legal history over credit card late fees worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to be lodged by law firm Maurice Blackburn today.

Hundreds of thousands of bank customers could benefit from the broadest class action in Australian legal history over credit card late fees worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Anyone who has ever been hit with late payment fees on their credit card could benefit from one of the country's biggest class actions.

Legal firm Maurice Blackburn is lodging court action on behalf of customers of ANZ, Citibank, Westpac, BankSA and St George to recoup late credit card fees worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lawsuits against NAB, American Express and the Commonwealth Bank are expected to follow.

Every bank customer who has been stung by excessive late fees will automatically be included in the class action, making it difficult to estimate the size of the potential claim.

Known as an 'open class' victims do not need to register to join. 

There is also no time limit on how far back in time the fees might be clawed back.

The banks have reaped about $6 billion from the various fees with late fees on credit cards making up about a quarter of that.

The class action follows a victory against ANZ in February, when a judge ruled that the bank's late credit card fees were excessive, paving the way for the new suit.