View Full Version : Commonwealth Bank rant
I am just so upset! I'd take it up with the bank but their phone lines are closed till 8 tomorrow.
See the thing is..I am from canberra but am living in brisbane doing a course. The last time I was down in canberra I went in and closed my bank account with commonwealth, as I have joined ANZ and dont use it anymore. I had to pay $40 in overdrawn fees, which was fine by me as it was my own fault I didnt close it down earlier. The woman at the till told me she was going away on holidays the next day..and apparently someone has to do something the next day to close it down so I had to wait while she wrote down the details for them. She took my bank card and gave me a receipt for the $40. She gave me no reason to believe it wouldnt get done...and since I havnt heard anything from the bank since then(which was mid July) I assumed there had been no hassles.
Untill just before, my mum rings me from canberra saying Ive been sent a letter from them owing a over a hundred $$$. I normally wouldnt care so much but im a student and I dont earn alot of money. Even if they did forget to close it down, I wouldn't owe them that much money if i havn't been using it anyway.
Now Im really worried that Im going to have to give some stupid rich bank money because of their incompetance!!!! Now I know why people have nothing good to say about banks!!!! I can't find the receipt either...so i have no way to prove anything:gloomy: Im a really carefull person and am never in any kind of debt. I don't even layby for crying out loud!
Has anyone had this happen? Do you think Ill have to pay them the money?
MonkeyMum05
24-08-2006, 21:43
Yes, my husband had a similar incident with the Commonwealth bank.
He called them and explained the situation, they were most apologetic, and said they would wipe the fees... then it happened again!!!
...after another phonecall and explaination, they finally closed it, and we owed nothing! :o
Just give them a call and be extra polite, and they should fix it for you... their fault, not yours!
Alatariel
24-08-2006, 21:46
Definately call them and explain everything, they should just fix it up. If they dont, get mad. this isnt your fault and you shouldnt have to pay that money!
Thankyou so much for your quick reply!!! Now I might be able to get some sleep tonight. Im such a stresser..its just u hear all this stuff about ppl owing heaps to the bank(or 1c) and the banks not letting up about it, and these people ending up with huge debts!
Hopefully it will work out like it did for your husband(cept first time round!)
Thanks again:D
I closed all my accounts with the Commonwealth bank and then a year later I got a statement saying I owed $600!!! I was furious. Apparently it was a direct debit that I wasn't aware of and they let it go through even thought the account had been closed for a year. Then they charged heaps of fees and overdue amounts. I went in and accepted the direct debit as my fault but I refused to pay all the extras and eventually they gave in.
Rach:)
I won't deal with this bank.
I had a creditcard with them, fair enough. So we got a consolidation loan earlier in the year and used it to wipe the banks debt. Firstly I had to get statements for the last 6 months - at $7/month :eek:
Then I called the bank to ask for the payout figure. I was given that, I paid it, I felt good about myself.
So I went into a branch to shut the account and they told me there still $36 owing, which was the statement fees. I explained that I asked for a payout figure but they said that I must have been given the wrong information.
I'm sorry, but when I ask for a figure, that's what I get and that's all I'll pay. So I'm refusing to pay the $30 :p In fact when my next bill arrives I'll call them
Yasmeena
25-08-2006, 09:50
try contacting http://www.fairtrading.act.gov.au/
let the bank know you are aware of your rights as a consumer
We were with the CBA and just moved over banks as we got a new home loan with a better rate with no monthly fees. We were not getting charged monthly fees with CBA as long as we had our h/loan with them but as soon as the h/loan was completed and closed (3 months ago) we got charged over $100 in fees. Hubbie just closed all the accounts bar the c/card two weeks ago and yesterday we received all the statements stating that the accounts had been closed. All I can say is that go into the bank and blast them and demand an explanation
jessgray
25-08-2006, 11:23
i closed my account with this bank when i was 15 after discovering that all my savings had been swallowed up by huge fees that werent spose to be even charged to my account as the account was a dollarmite one that i had since i was 4 and half :(
and they wouldnt give back the money either. :thumbsdown:
but ia m happy with my current bank :D
i closed my account with this bank when i was 15 after discovering that all my savings had been swallowed up by huge fees that werent spose to be even charged to my account as the account was a dollarmite one that i had since i was 4 and half :(
and they wouldnt give back the money either. :thumbsdown:
but ia m happy with my current bank :D
yeah, that's the other thing they did. My account sat empty for 6 months, so they called and told me they were going to shut it down unless there was activity in it. So I said "So you can get fees, right?"
the guy stuttered around that one, so I said "The bank is willing to shut down an account that is 15 years old.. all because you can't get fees out of it?"
"Yes."
"Okay, do as you wish."
Well I rang them up just before and it turns out $90 of the money was for my sponser child WHOOPS!!!:banghead: By the time I relised I hadnt phoned compassion with my new account number I figured they'd already would have found a new sponsor. But since my account hadnt shutdown they were still getting money. So really it is good cuz I still have my sponsor child(who now has my new account number:D) and the bank says they are happy not to charge the fees.
It seems a bit suss though. Until after I shut it down, that account never let me overdraw anything. Why should the bank have the right to still pay direct debits after an account was ment to be shut??? Especially if they never overdrew on the account anyway!!!:confused:
They are calling me on monday anyhow. I am happy to pay the $90 cuz I still get to write to ma lil girl!!!!:smiliedance:
BTW im glad I shut it down after reading some of your experiances!!!!!
I closed my account with them today ... They like to take money out when i said NOTHING can be debited before friday midnight ! To many overdrawn fees grrrrrr !!!:banghead:
kathrine
02-09-2006, 15:24
which bank?
indigoin0z
02-09-2006, 15:30
if you still have no luck after talking to them on the phone,
just befor you hang up [once you are speaking to a supervisor:idea: ],
just ask them
which cheezy current affair show they would like you to take your story to? :D
edited note;
oops, ok so all okay now...... but they would of been sh*tt*n their pants i tell ya!:laughing:
hahaha they were giving them sh!t on aca last night..did u see that?
No, :no: and I didn't read this thread before signing my son up with them yesterday!
What really make me mad about these banks is, they direct debit your account and overdraw it, and then charge you the $30 overdrawn fee and then put the money back so you havent made the direct debit in the first place but still have to pay the fee. So really they shouldnt have charged the fee because you havent made the payment. Hope that make sense. I hate all banks, they make a small fortune every year charging us for accessing our own money. Half of the fees we get charged are ridiculous and we should never be charged for them.
they didnt put the money back for me...i still have to pay it..but they said not the overdrawn fee
i still dont see why i should...i asked for it to be shutdown..they should have shut it down regardless of whether i still had direct debits being taken out...
or they could have at least called and asked
BOSS302WMOM
03-09-2006, 11:23
I had a similar problem...........but with NAB I gave my key card and details to my sister(who was 15 at the time) to use for work as she didnt have enough ID to open an account she used it for a year and when she quit the job gave me the stuff back as she was opening a new account for a new job in her name.
I went into close after getting a letter about it being inactive and so forth I went in and it had been maybe 6 months since she used it AT ALL there were fees owing to around $70 the teller said oh you get charged extra for over the counter withdrawls.........it was MY account my SISTER had been using and I know she wouldnt go into the bank and pretend to be me.......she was flat out going into a bank fullstop.
So I had to pay these pathetic amount of fees for a sevice I/we didnt use, if someone had done so it was their fault as they are meant to ask for photo ID, ect before any transaction took place.
So for anyone who gets told you must off...........I am proof they get it wrong.
Well glad to hear you got it sorted in the what the charged were for......but yes its their fault it wasnt shut down
BlessedWithBlue
05-09-2006, 11:09
That happened to me last year, i had closed my account with them over the phone and received a statement a few months later saying my account was in debit by $100 so i rang them and told them i wan't happy and that i had closed the account a few months before hand i was told i wasn't allowed to close my account over the phone and i had to go into a branch to do it.
I told them i wasn't paying it and to close my account as i had requested, never heard anything back from them and never paid it either. It was their fault and i don't have money to throw around.
I am thinking about closing the other 2 accounts i have with them too as one is joint and the person it is joint with i don't have contact with any more so it keeps getting into debit and i am the one who has to keep reconciling that debit:mad: but again they told me i am not allowed to do it with out the other person so i am stuck with it....:thumbsdown:
clarebear1983
07-09-2006, 11:26
I have had probs as well.
When i was little i lived in Kununurra (3000km from perth) and mum and dad opened a bank account for me.
When DH and I got engaged and moved to brisbane we decided it would be easier to have all our finances together so we decided to close my account and his and have a joint one.
Anyway I went into the closest branch and did all the neccessary stuff. Then we moved to Perth.
I got a letter about 6 months later saying that i owed money for that account which I had closed!!!!
DH rang the bank (I was too mad) and they said to him:
Oh you will have to go into the branch that you went to to close the account and settle it with them because there is nothing here showing the account as closed.
DH told them rather hotly that the branch we closed it at was in QLD and we were in Perth and politely asked them if they would pay for our flights to and from Brisbane just to close a stupid account.
Then the bank said "Cant you go to the branch the account was originally opened at, its in WA"
DH was very mad by then telling them that Kununnurra was INFACT further from perth than BRISBANE!
Anyway we didnt sort anything out that day because "we dont do that kind of thing over the phone"...............so i left the account as inactive, never paid a thing and havent heard from them regarding that account in about 3 years (and i told them i would not be paying anything for their stupidity!!!)
I am still with that bank but DH and i are thinking of switching because they keep changing things on us (like what fees we have to pay etc)..........its really annoying!!!!
Pobblebonk
09-09-2006, 12:04
Yeah I had a Dollarmite account with the CBA and I closed it two years ago when I realised that they were charging me like $30 a month in fees for every little thing imaginable from government tax to this to that. I ended up going with another bank that gives me unlimited transactions for $6 a month, plus I get three extra sub-accounts which all earn interest at a rate of 6%.
When it comes to bank accounts, you really have to shop around for the bank that's going to give you what you need.
The Commonwealth Bank are the BIGGEST RIP OFF MERCHANTS ever and I can't believe they still have customers.
DragonFly Baby
10-09-2006, 07:57
Hi there,:wave:
I USED to work for ..... Which Bank? And I know for a fact that if an account with debits is inactive for long enough they will just write it off....that was part of my job:yes:
I switched banks earlier in the year because I was sick of the fees with the commonwealth, I just wanted to share that experience with you all coz it made me laugh.
I walked into the bank, teller smiles and aks how my day is and how she can help.
I say I'm great and I'd like to close my account. Suddenly a dark cloud falls over the bank and my teller is now giving me a dirty look.
"Okay" begins typing on the computer to bring up my account and close it. She asks me why I'm closing it.
"Because I'm switching banks?"
"Why?"
"Because I'm sick of the fees"
"All banks have fees!!!"
It reminded me of an unpleasant break up
Sarah says to the commonwealth bank "I think we should start seeing other people"
Bank pleads "WHY?"
Sarah says "I'm not in love with you anymore"
Bank cries "No one will love you like I do!"
Nah, my decision to bank there was NEVER valued like that :p
:laughing: :laughing: I cant believe they even asked you why! I didnt know it was their job to care..
i would lie and say 'cos they gave us a loan when you wouldnt' lol
we've had a whole of trouble with commonwealth too. it seems those people don't know how to close an account. not just bank accounts but credit cards too.
we switched to NAB and we are very happy with them. they don't charge us for overdrawing. they do once you overdraw an overdrawn account. my whole family has moved to NAB and they are all happy. i love the service too.
i would never touch ANZ or the Commonwealth if i could avoid it.
even the commonwealth's education savings fund is wraught with fees and hidden charges. you'll never end up saving anything.
really? Is anz bad too?
Ohhhh no
clarebear1983
11-09-2006, 15:24
If you have a loan with commonwealth bank can you still close your account and switch banks??? (as long as you make the repayments of course!!!!!!!! :yes: )
I want to get a debit card but have been told that Commonwealth dont do them (hate keycards cos you cant buy over the net and will NEVER get a credit card!!!)..........I am also sick of commonwealth changing our account without telling us (all of a sudden we are getting charged extra fees etc) and charging us for things that we shouldnt be charged for................
My hubby wants to go with ANZ cos they have just opened a branch where we are and its open on saturdays but i want suggestions from other people as to the banks they use and how good they are and fees etc.......
I have an anz debit card and I love it!!!
Its pink and everyone always comments on it when i whip it out:p
Fees arnt too bad...$30 if you overdraw and $6 a month I think. Dont quote me on it though!!
Im very happy with it so far:thumbsup:
KiLLaKaZ
11-09-2006, 23:32
What really make me mad about these banks is, they direct debit your account and overdraw it, and then charge you the $30 overdrawn fee and then put the money back so you havent made the direct debit in the first place but still have to pay the fee. So really they shouldnt have charged the fee because you havent made the payment. Hope that make sense. I hate all banks, they make a small fortune every year charging us for accessing our own money. Half of the fees we get charged are ridiculous and we should never be charged for them.
i know EXACTLY what u mean!
they (commonwealth bank) did this to me 3 times with the same payment - & i was hit with an overdrawn fee for each one!! the payment that was coming out wasn't even supposed to have come out!! it makes me sooooooooo mad!! & especially for someone who wasn't earning any money at that stage! i closed my account with them straight away after that. when asked why i was closing it i commented on having too many fees taken out of the account, & i got no reply!!
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