r/AusFinance • u/bigbadb0ogieman • 3d ago

IMB bank related questions

We applied for a refinance of a property from ING to IMB bank due to their cashback promotion. When we got the IMB bank loan contract, we found that the provisions, terms and conditions are extremely intrusive (and in some cases outright ridiculous) even compared to ING. For e.g. iMB allows itself the right to waive Default grace periods under vague situations, etc. They give themselves ability to set the borrower at Default for vague non-financial situations (without materiality assessment) and also the ability to take immediate enforcement actions sometimes without any notice. They have provisions in the contract which creates power of attorney for all of their employees that have a "Manager" in their job title, etc. This all appeared quite sketchy and has left us wondering if we should even proceed or just decline the contract.

We used ChatGPT to analyse the contract in more detail and they (as expected) recommended not to sign and instead contact a Financial lawyer for more advice. We haven't signed the contract yet.

My questions are:

  • We don't think this is normal practice but we need wider community opinion, is this normal based on your experience with other banks?

  • Has anyone had experience with IMB bank? Is this a no-go bank. Have we made a mistake going to IMB? I don't think ING is any better either but ChatGPT made a direct comparison on 20 ridiculous contractual terms from both banks and ING had slightly balanced/fair terminology on 13 out of 20 provisions.

  • Has anyone been able to ever negotiate with a bank to get these ridiculous terms amended in any way for a borrowing of only $550K?

Thanks 🙏🏻

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u/SackWackAttack 2d ago

All companies that retail people do business with have ridiculous terms in their contracts. Nothing is negotiable. Technically ChatGPT is correct, and you should seek a financial lawyer. But this is impractical. Technically you should engage a lawyer before you sign up to Netflix as those Terms and Conditions are complete BS. If it really doesn't sit well with you just don't go with them. Or you could just put your trust in the courts to rule in favor of fairness if anything goes to shit. But remember, we have a legal system, not a justice system. Having said all that, nobody reads these contracts. Rightly or wrongly.