CBA fixes “human error” returning $1,000 in 2 days
Nadia had moved from overseas and opened a new account with Commonwealth Bank (CBA). In this process, CBA gave Nadia the wrong account number, resulting in her funds going to a different account. She wasn’t able to solve her issue with the customer service representative at a physical branch, and turned to Ajust for help. At Ajust, we were able to get Nadia’s problem solved and her money back in 2 days.
CBA issues incorrect account number
Nadia had recently moved from India to Australia.
Moving from one country to another is often a pretty intense process, so it’s understandable for people to want things to go as well as they can. Things like housing, employment and finances all need to be carefully taken care of.
Of course, one of the first things people do when you move countries is to open an account with a local bank, and that was what Nadia did! She opened an account with one of the largest banks in Australia - CBA.
Unknown to Nadia, CBA had actually given her the wrong account number. Nadia had been doing most (if not all) her banking with that account number, so this was a big problem.
Nadia realised this happened when she transferred $1000 from India to Australia through a company called Thomas Cook. But, this had been going on for a few weeks prior where she was using the account for all sorts of things, to get her life set up in Australia. We assume when the money didn’t show up, Nadia’s alarm bells must have gone off. The money that was supposed to go into Nadia’s CBA account had been transferred elsewhere.
If we were in Nadia’s shoes, our hearts would have dropped knowing our money was missing. It’s a scary situation to be in, as you don’t know where your money has gone and when or if you will get it back.
When Nadia tried to get the mistake corrected, she ran into some roadblocks.
Where did my money end up?
Nadia told us about her experience in making her complaint through Ajust.
As we would assume, Nadia got in touch with CBA to get her problem resolved. Losing money would be stressful for anyone, and we felt for Nadia’s situation - especially as a newcomer to the country. The best outcome for Nadia would have been for CBA to try and recover the missing funds as soon as possible.
Nadia visited a physical CBA branch to try and get her issue resolved. In fact, she made two visits. She went out of her way to get help in person, but each time, CBA simply directed her towards Thomas Cook and Nadia felt they took no responsibility for their mistake.
Nadia told Ajust the whole process was physically and mentally exhausting for her. While she understood that human errors do happen, she felt that she was being sent away without a solution. It was hurtful for Nadia that her issue was not being met with the cooperation she was hoping for.
In fact, the money she was missing was actually for her rent. As she was not able to access the money on time, Nadia had to borrow money in order to pay her rent. We can empathise with Nadia and picture the frustration and panic she went through.
Most banks service thousands of customers. With this many people, it’s accepted that mistakes occur. Most banks are prepared for this and invest in their complaint resolution process (in fact, they are required to have one).
However, some matters can still slip through the cracks. In order to give yourself the best chance at getting your issue solved smoothly and quickly, it can help to come to the conversation prepared.
Read our tips on dealing with bank complaints for more information.
CBA acknowledges their mistake and fixes it
After Ajust stepped in, it took CBA 2 days to deposit the missing funds into Nadia’s account. Getting the money returned was much to her relief:
“Ajust has been a lifesaver and I have to thank you guys so much for getting me through this problem. Without you guys I don't think the problem could have been solved.”
The team at Ajust was really glad to hear this from Nadia, and that all her banking issues were resolved. It’s also great to see that CBA rectified the issue with such a quick turnaround.
It was an unfortunate situation, but experiences like Nadia’s do occur. In these cases, it’s useful to have a platform that can help communicate your issue to the bank and aid in coming to a solution. At Ajust, were happy to help with complaints you may have regarding your bank.
Editor’s note: We’re always excited to share the experiences of consumers that have used Ajust. This Consumer Story is based on a real complaint made through our platform. But we’ve changed some details to protect the consumer's personal information and make the story more enjoyable for our readers.
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