Australian financial services firm Latitude Financial has written off AUD2.5m ($1.68m) of debt after a salesman at furniture retailer Harvey Norman falsified documents to sign up Indigenous customers. The contracts drawn up between 2014 and 2016 were largely for consumers with limited English and no stable income, before being discovered by Lutheran Community Care financial counsellors. In the wake of the scandal, Latitude said it had been forced into administration in March this year but was still owed more than AU$3m. A Harvey Norman salesman who falsified information to sign up Indigenous customers to store credit cards triggered a $2.5 million write-off for credit provider Latitude Financial. Furthermore, the Harvey Norman salesman was terminated immediately once identified.
Australian financial services firm Latitude Financial has written off AUD2.5m ($1.68m) of debt after a salesman at furniture retailer Harvey Norman falsified documents to sign up Indigenous customers. The contracts drawn up between 2014 and 2016 were largely for consumers with limited English and no stable income, before being discovered by Lutheran Community Care financial counsellors. In the wake of the scandal, Latitude said it had been forced into administration in March this year but was still owed more than AU$3m. Furthermore, the Harvey Norman salesman was terminated immediately once identified.