A FORMER Harrington Waters developer involved in a lengthy legal battle with Bankwest has established an action group and website to help others who find themselves in dispute with the bank.
Geoff Shannon, original owner of a complex of 16 partly-built townhouses overlooking the Harrington Waters marina, has established www.unhappybanking.net.au as a vehicle to provide help and support primarily to businesspeople either involved in or considering action against Bankwest.
Mr Shannon is a former Bankwest commercial client involved in action and legal proceedings with the bank since 2008 after several companies he headed went into voluntary administration.
At the time he had partly completed the 'Dockside' project and several other houses and units in Harrington Waters. (The Dockside project has since been bought and completed by an entirely different developer.)
Companies headed by Mr Shannon and included in the original notice of voluntary administration released by the Office of Fair Trading in October 2008 included C2CC Developments, Adobe Pty Ltd, Shannon Trading Pty Ltd and C2C Investments Pty Ltd.
Early in 2010 Mr Shannon told the Times he was "extremely disappointed by being restrained from completing what I believe to be one of the best development sites on the eastern seaboard of Australia".
He said completion of the Harrington Waters project had been "taken out of my hands" and the issue had cost his family many millions of dollars.
At the centre of his grievance, he alleges, were the actions of Bankwest (the Bank of Western Australia) with whom he had business dealings.
(Bankwest was acquired by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia late in 2008.)
Bankwest provided significant funding to Mr Shannon's company for the Harrington property development, and ongoing legal proceedings relate to the bank's recovery action for the balance of funds due to it. Mr Shannon's legal case claims a string of irregularities by Bankwest allegedly contributed to the collapse of his companies.
The matter is well advanced through the Supreme Court, and Mr Shannon has now vowed through his website to assist other "unhappy Bankwest commercial customers" in their fight against the CBA subsidiary.
His establishment of an action group, he said, will provide legal assistance to commercial customers who are in dispute with Bankwest.
"Like many hard working Australians, I turned to my bank to help my business grow. I thought my bank, Bankwest, would help me but I was very wrong.
"I regrettably became a Bankwest client in 2006 and was bought to my knees in 2008. My family and I lost all of our company and personal assets due to the predatory conduct of Bankwest.
"Fortunately I have been able to rebuild my business and my life and am continuing to honour commitments I was left with, but Bankwest and the other banks know most people will pack up and walk away because they are too big to fight.
"I am therefore urging all Bankwest business clients who have a genuine grievance against the bank to contact www.unhappybanking.net.au so my legal team can individually assess their case and see how we might be able to assist.
"The more cases we can assist means the more of us who will stand up to Bankwest and stop their predatory behaviour."
He said that whatever happens to Bankwest in the future, "they must be held accountable for what they have done to so many hard working, honest business people."
Since the website went live on December 22, Bankwest had attempted to have it suppressed, Mr Shannon claimed.
Since that date also, the action group has been contacted by people with over $1.2 billion worth of potential claims, he said.
A Bankwest spokesperson released a statement to the Times this week confirming the ongoing NSW Supreme Court proceedings between the bank and Mr Shannon.
"The court is the most appropriate forum for the issues raised to be resolved," the spokesperson said.
"It is also important to note that we refute much of the content on Mr Shannon's website however as this matter is before the court, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
The matter was most recently before the court on November 25, 2011 where some standard procedural orders were made.
The Times understands the matter will likely proceed to a hearing this year.
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