Banks to Refund $60 Million in Fees, but CommBank Holds Back Billions
So here's what's going on with this latest banking news – and it's a big one, especially for low-income Aussies. Basically, a heap of Australian banks are being made to refund a massive $60 million in unfair fees that were wrongly charged to people doing it tough – folks on Centrelink payments, like JobSeeker or the disability pension.
This whole thing kicked off after an investigation by ASIC – that's the Australian Securities and Investments Commission – which found that over 770,000 customers had been charged excessive fees they shouldn't have been paying. These fees included things like dishonour charges, overdraft fees, and account-keeping costs that really stacked up over the years.
And here’s the kicker: these were fees that could have easily been avoided if people had just been put on low-fee or no-fee bank accounts – which they actually qualified for all along. We're talking about people in remote communities, First Nations customers, and others on tight incomes who were essentially being drained by their banks.
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Banks like ANZ, Westpac, and Bendigo Bank have agreed to pay the money back. ANZ alone is shelling out almost $48 million. Westpac’s refunding close to $10 million, and Bendigo’s giving back around $155,000. Even smaller banks like Suncorp, Bank of Queensland, and AMP are issuing refunds too – although theirs are on a smaller scale.
But then there's Commonwealth Bank and Bankwest, which are under fire for refusing to refund a whopping $270 million in fees they’ve charged to more than 2 million low-income customers since 2019. Instead, they’re saying they'll switch those people to a "new low-fee account" – but they’re not offering to pay back what was taken in the past. ASIC isn't happy about it, and honestly, neither are the people affected.
One woman, Susan Potts from Broome, was refunded 10 years’ worth of fees – but only after her financial counsellor fought tooth and nail to get it back. And there are thousands more like her who may still not know they're owed money.
It’s not just about the money, though. It's about fairness. These are people who could barely afford to lose a cent, let alone hundreds or thousands of dollars in bank fees. And in remote areas, where access to information and support is already limited, many people are still in the dark about whether they’re eligible for refunds.
ASIC says it’ll keep the pressure on the banks, and hopefully, that means more refunds are on the way. But for now, it's a mixed result – some banks stepping up, others dragging their heels – and a lot of Australians still waiting for justice.
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