In an out of court settlement with the Commerce Commission, Auckland based motor vehicle finance company Equality Finance Limited is to refund around 1,400 affected customers a total of approximately $720,000.

In the settlement, Equality Finance admitted breaching the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCF Act) by charging unreasonable fees.

Customers, who purchased a vehicle from Equality Cars Limited with finance through its related finance company, were required to have an electronic vehicle immobiliser device fitted to the vehicle.

The Commission investigation identified that Equality Finance had in some cases overcharged its customers for the cost of the installation and maintenance of the electronic vehicle immobiliser. In every case Equality Finance had added the full cost of the product over the loan term to the initial loan balance. This was despite Equality Finance being charged by the supplier on a monthly

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