Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

I was just talking to a friend who is off to Europe for a four month holiday soon and it really got my blood boiling. Not for my friend going...hell, she and her partner really deserve it.

But I became angry as it has always been our wish to have a "little" six month stay in France/ Italy but were always advised by Storm that we must hurt now for future pleasures (so to speak). So we have worked hard all our adult lives, never went on any trips, and now have nothing to show for it but a bad debt.

How I wish we had done all those wonderful things and more ($250,000 of my husbands super that we would of had even if no investments were undertaken) ....blow most of our money admittedly...but be no worse off then we now are... and at least have done it and had fun doing it. It is said we should never had any regrets when we come to the end of our life.....I guess I still have a huge mountain to climb if that is the case.
 
Anastasia,

Whilst Storm might have dissuaded you from using some cash to take an extended holiday, I'm betting that at the same time they were saying "Follow our plan for you and you'll be able to have all that in the future".

The truth is very few of us could ever afford to go on an extended european vacation. Just an example of Storm preying on ordinary people to pull in their commissions.

To my mind using a large chunk of retirement savings for a vacation is a poor decision, but in your situation I can certainly understand you wishing you had. Don't give up on life, there are many wonderful things you can enjoy without a mountain of money.
 
"Losses not our fault, ANZ tells inquiry"

"Misplaced optimism that equity and property markets would continue to boom paved the way for heavy investor losses in the collapses of Opes Prime and Storm Financial, a senior Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation executive said yesterday."

Read more by Duncan Hughes in The Australian Financial Review of 27/08/2009
 
"Rates copy stirs Storm"

"TOWNSVILLE City Council has been caught out trying to charge a victim of Storm Financial $12 for
a copy of his rates notice.

The devastated former Storm client, veteran pensioner Steve Reynolds, was trying to collect documents for a hardship claim to Bank of Queensland."

More by Tony Raggatt in the Townsville Bulletin here;

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/08/27/74775_news.html
 
I was just talking to a friend who is off to Europe for a four month holiday soon and it really got my blood boiling. Not for my friend going...hell, she and her partner really deserve it.

But I became angry as it has always been our wish to have a "little" six month stay in France/ Italy but were always advised by Storm that we must hurt now for future pleasures (so to speak). So we have worked hard all our adult lives, never went on any trips, and now have nothing to show for it but a bad debt.

How I wish we had done all those wonderful things and more ($250,000 of my husbands super that we would of had even if no investments were undertaken) ....blow most of our money admittedly...but be no worse off then we now are... and at least have done it and had fun doing it. It is said we should never had any regrets when we come to the end of our life.....I guess I still have a huge mountain to climb if that is the case.


i know exactly where you are coming from-things where supposed to be very very different at this stage of life-i cant wait to see what comes from the hearings this will be a start- lets see who and what crawls out from under that rocks-i dont trust any of them now-all i want to see is what has been wrongly taken away be givven back to the people who lost everythimng- im not going to stop until i see this happen-you cant treat people like this- you cant discard people as if they are rubbish and walk away as if nothings wrong- people are hurting some hurting very very much-so i will not stop until i see everybody that has been flattened be this restored to where they should be- a life times work destroyed- i dont think so- keep fighting until you can fight no more to make sure justice is done- who is at fault..? let the court of public opinion decide. im freaking fired up today
 
So, was it the Gumnut way back at the start of this thread who predicted the lawyers would be the ones to clean up?

Have not the lawyers (S&G) been engaged by "money spider central" or SICAG.

Can anyone give an example of any organisation and lawyers in particular working in the interests of anyone other than those who are paying the bills.(CBA)

So, it has taken 150 pages for the Gumnut's prediction to come to fruition.
 
.........Can anyone give an example of any organisation and lawyers in particular working in the interests of anyone other than those who are paying the bills.(CBA)...........

The ATO. Admittedly this is actually the taxpayer but the ATO has funded court cases against itself in order to achieve a determination by the courts on contentious tax issues and principles. The ATO has lost the cases on a number of occasions.

Maybe, just maybe, the CBA is taking a higher stance by going to the courts on a "let's get these legal issues sorted out once and for all." If so, good on them because a court decision should decide the level of responsibilities on banks, financial institutions and also the clients. And there could be worthwhile flow on effects.

Can only wait and see.
 
So, was it the Gumnut way back at the start of this thread who predicted the lawyers would be the ones to clean up?

Have not the lawyers (S&G) been engaged by "money spider central" or SICAG.

Can anyone give an example of any organisation and lawyers in particular working in the interests of anyone other than those who are paying the bills.(CBA)

So, it has taken 150 pages for the Gumnut's prediction to come to fruition.

Well it was never going to be for free!! Look at the whole picture. If this proposal wasn't presented alot of people would not have been able to take banks/storm to task. If they did it would be determental financially even with the no win, no pay firm. Stormers have every right to leave the proposal if they are not happy. I don't know what other choice they have. Am awaiting on what ASIC's will do. Hopefully it will be a welcome surprise.
 
The best (?) analogy I can draw is a once loving relationship that ends in a bitter divorce. Ego, blame, arrogance takes over and reason gets left behind to the extent they start fighting over the children, the furniture and the gold fish.

When it gets to that stage it's very hard re-establish logical discussion.

In the CBA/Storm divorce case though neither party apparently wanted custody.

And from the sound of it Storm Financial should have been in counselling for years earlier.

gg
 
"Severe Storm alert for Norris"

"The parliamentary inquiry will have some probing questions for the CBA chief executive - if he turns up."

Read more by Duncan Hughes in The Australian Financial Review of 29/08/2009.
 
"EMMANUEL CASSIMATIS"

"Back in the days when his Storm Financial group seemed like a good idea, Emmanuel Cassimatis was quite the public gadabout."

Read more by Duncan Hughes in The Australian Financial Review of 29/08/2009
 
"Investors to be warned of share risks to homes"

"INVESTORS who borrow against their home to buy shares will have to be given clear warnings of the risks, including that they might lose their house, under new margin lending regulations set to be unveiled by the Rudd government."

More by Nicola Berkovic in The Australian of August 29, 2009.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25996755-20501,00.html
 
Top