The Commonwealth Bank canceled a 10 year old personal account without warning or notice because of a $10 overdraft resulting from bank fees.
My partner has had a personal bank account with Commonwealth Bank for a over 10 years. We have been overseas for a couple of years. Less than two months she received a replacement debit card for this account. She is going to Australia shortly for a visit, so we transferred some money from another bank for the trip. We've done this before without a problem.
When we went to check whether the funds had arrived, her internet banking page tells her the page doesn't exist! We couldn't believe it. We hadn't closed the account. When we rang the customer service number, we were told that they canceled it because it was overdrawn. It was overdrawn because of their bank fees. They did not warn us they were going to close the account. They did not notify us once the account was closed. The representative explained that it was not there policy to notify the customer.
Meanwhile, thousands of dollars of electronically transferred funds are in limbo. They were unable to assist us, or even explain clearly to us what would happen to these funds.
Other banks with which we have accounts do not cancel our accounts when they are overdrawn. They charge us fees, charge us interest, fair enough. They don't close our accounts.
We have similar problems with the Commonwealth Bank in the past, and for a number of years have stuck with them. As expatriates, it is always a little more difficult for us to deal with issues as they come up. Our other banks have always bent over backwards to help us each time. All our dealings with the Commonwealth Bank have always been difficult. There customer service has always been bureaucratic and unhelpful, even rude at times. We are in the process of putting a complaint in to the banking ombudsman http://www.bfso.org.au/ I would not recommend anyone open a business or personal bank account with the Commonwealth Bank, and we will recommending that our friends and families close any existing accounts they may have. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia does not care for its customers, and provides only the poorest level of customer service.
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