The ANZ Bank is insisting that his clients who have paid off their mortgages and want to discharge them have to do so through a lawyer.
Dempster says there’s no legal requirement for a lawyer. Banks will normally charge a $50 discharge fee and the Land Transfer Office another $38. Dempster says he will take care of the process for a $20 fee but having a lawyer involved will add maybe $100 to $150 to the costs.
"The ANZ Bank says its their policy to insist on lawyers," Dempster says.
Not so, says ANZ Bank. Spokesman Mark Thomas says Dempster is correct that there is no legal requirement to have a lawyer discharge a mortgage.
"We recommend it, but we don’t require it. It is absolutely not a requirement of ANZ," Thomas says. Nevertheless, he conceeds that "I’m sure some of our people recommend it quite strongly."
