A long-term Commonwealth Bank customer has been left confused and stressed after being informed that her and her partner’s accounts would be closed at the end of May with no explanation as to why.
Brooke told John Stanley on 2GB radio yesterday that she and her partner have been with the bank for ten years.
On Monday last week, the bank texted the couple saying it was closing all of their accounts.
Thinking it was a scam, they rang the bank, which confirmed the news.
“They said, ‘It’s all real, you’ve got until the end of May to shut all accounts’ … no reason why,” she said.
“By Wednesday, all (Brooke’s partner’s) accounts were blocked so he couldn’t even buy a drink at work or anything.
“He called them, they released the block but said they’re not obliged to tell us, they have the right to shut all accounts.”
The couple said they then received a letter from the bank on Thursday with no information as to why the accounts were being closed and said their money had to be moved from their accounts by May 31.
The couple had several open accounts, including a car payment, savings account, credit cards and a joint account.
They say they’re just a regular family who have nothing “unusual” or “dodgy” going on.
“We’re a young family with two young kids, my partner goes to work six days a week,” she said.
“Our concern is it is going to affect us in the long term with our reputation and credit score.
“Even yesterday, we went to the bank to open new accounts, they asked, ‘Why are you swapping banks?’
“We just had to say ‘customer service’, because we didn’t know why.”
The couple received the news just before the long weekend, which Brooke says added to their stress.
“And this is all happening on Wednesday, Thursday, before the long weekend, so we thought, ‘How are we going to get this sorted before everything shuts?'”
Banks in Australia reserve the right to close a customer’s account, according to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
“Decisions to end relationships with customers are not taken lightly and are made on a case-by-case basis,” a spokesperson for Commonwealth Bank said.
“We consider a number of factors before taking the careful decision to close a customer’s account and we ensure we inform the customer of that closure decision.
“While we appreciate some customers want more information in relation to account closure decisions, there are limitations on what can be shared, which include our regulatory and legal obligations.”
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