Count Financial
The Claim
Piper Alderman has filed a class action in the Federal Court of Australia on behalf of individuals who have acquired, renewed or continued to hold financial products, insurance products and platform products on the advice of an adviser from Count Financial, which was a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
The class action alleges that Count Financial contravened their legal obligations by failing to ensure that their advisers were acting in their clients’ best interests and prioritising their clients’ interests when giving personal financial advice and receiving commissions and/or benefits. Further, the class action alleges that advisers charged some clients ongoing service fees in circumstances where they did not provide them any ongoing service.
The class action alleges that Count Financial contravened its obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to:
- ensure that their financial advisers do not contravene their legal obligations to their customers;
- ensure that adviser remuneration was free from conflict;
- ensure that their financial advisers acted in their customer’s best interest when giving personal financial advice; and
- ensure that financial advisers to provide services where fees were charged.
As a result of these contraventions, it is alleged that Group Members suffered loss or damage.
Group Members are any persons who:
- received personal advice from a financial adviser in the Count network;
- pursuant to that advice, acquired, renewed and/or continued to hold financial products, insurance products and platform products; and
- paid commissions in respect of those products between 21 August 2014 and 21 August 2020 (the Relevant Period).
If you are unsure as to whether your financial adviser was part of the Count network, you can see a list of the franchisees (businesses) that were part of the Count network during the Relevant Period at Franchisee List.
Status of the Proceedings
The Group Members’ claims are addressed in the Second Further Amended Statement of Claim filed 12 March 2024 and Count’s defence to the Second Further Amended Statement of Claim filed 20 March 2024. Copies of those documents are available here and here.
An initial trial was heard in the matter on 4 March 2024, running for 3 weeks before his Honour Justice Halley of the Federal Court.
On 20 May 2024, the Court formally ‘reserved’ judgment in the proceedings and his Honour will now prepare his determination of the outcome of the initial trial.
Registering your details
If you meet the definition of a Group Member set out above, we invite you to register for the class action by filling out your details below. We will then contact you on your registered email address or telephone number to discuss the action and your claim.
There are no upfront costs for registering to participate in the class action. The claim is being funded by international litigation funder, Woodsford Litigation Funding, meaning you will not become liable for any “out of pocket” legal expenses simply by registering (or remaining as a Group Member and not “opting-out”). A copy of the Applicant’s funding agreement can be accessed on registration.
Importantly, this claim does not overlap with any other class actions you may have heard about against Count Financial. Piper Alderman is seeking to recover money for you that nobody else is.