Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has initiated a class action against Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited (CFPL), the wholly-owned advisory arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
The action has been filed on behalf of individuals who received inappropriate investment advice from Don Nguyen, a former authorised representative of CFPL.
Maurice Blackburn alleged CFPL engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to these clients and Nguyen breached various provisions of the Corporations Act. Elizabeth Saunders, who was a former client of Nguyen's and sought retirement advice from him in 2007, is the lead applicant in the case.
"Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited has not denied that Don Nguyen had failed his clients. They have accepted that he did cause losses," Maurice Blackburn managing principal Ben Slade said.
"The gripe we have is twofold. One is their resolution process is conducted completely by them and there is no independent assistance for the victims of that conduct. And secondly there is this body out there contacting people who we call a claims farmer, and we are concerned that without court supervision for this resolution people will be in severe difficulty and [may] find themselves worse off than before they met Mr Nguyen."
