“Nabbed”, which profiles pensioner Ian Williams who has sued NAB over online scams, is withdrawn at the last minute as an “editorial decision” by ABC.
ABC made a last minute change Australian story tonight, a “Nabbed” episode will be removed due to an “editorial issue.”
It was replaced by an episode about the Pub Choir.
This is what an ABC spokesperson said Television tonight“There was an editorial problem. No further information at this time, sorry.”
The episode portrays pensioner Ian Williams, a self-confessed ‘stubborn bugger’ who has sued NAB over an online scam.
ABC has also removed synopsis information from a number of websites and social media.
Here’s the full synopsis, originally provided by ABC:
When Victorian pensioner Ian Williams lost $1,338 in a banking scam, he expected a quick refund and apology. But his bank, a subsidiary of National Australia Bank, blamed him for the transactions, despite Ian’s dogged detective work providing clear evidence to the contrary.
The bank’s attitude so outraged the self-proclaimed “stubborn bugger” that he filed a lawsuit for $379,005,000. Williams estimated he was defrauded of 5.5% of his annual income and that figure represents 5.5% of NAB’s annual income.
“It was a number that I thought would get the bank’s attention,” Williams said.
Ian has a varied skill set. He has been a bricklayer, private investigator, nurse, horse breaker and bouncer. But representing herself at the Supreme Court was a challenge.
“I downloaded the current laws and codes of conduct,” he says. “And you think, ‘Jesus, what are they trying to accomplish?'”
Along the way, Ian joined the Scam Victim Alliance, an organization that supports people who have been scammed and lobbies for legislation to protect them.
“Ian’s case was very similar to some other payment cases we’d dealt with,” says co-founder Alex Brooks. “They dispute the transaction, but somehow the banks can still say it’s all your fault.”
Australian Story followed Ian Williams through the ups and downs of his lawsuit and its aftermath, as he tried to hold the bank publicly accountable and draw attention to the massive problem of online scams.
Although the trial did not go as he had hoped, he did achieve an unexpected victory.
“I completely understand why he decided to take the path he decided to take,” said Chris Sheehan, head of fraud at NAB. “We could have done things much better.”
Producer: Amos Roberts
It is not clear when or if the episode will be shown.
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