COMMONWEALTH BANK REFUNDS AFFECTED HOME LOAN PACKAGE CUSTOMERS

The Commonwealth Bank strives to deliver the highest levels of customer service. This includes regular reviews of products and services in our retail banking business, including customer feedback. As a result of a review, we identified that some home loan package customers with our Mortgage Advantage or Wealth Package product had not received all the discounts to which they were entitled, in some cases since 2008. This has resulted in overpayments by customers of fees and interest.

The Bank has today announced that, having now identified all customers who are due a refund, we have commenced contacting those customers and providing refunds of the overpayments, including interest.

Matt Comyn, Group Executive, Retail Banking Services said, “I apologise to customers who have not received the full benefits of their home loan package due to our mistake.  

“Once we discovered the error we notified the regulator, ASIC. We worked to identify those customers who were due a refund, and the amount owed to them, including interest. We have commenced contacting these customers. 

“An independent expert was engaged from the outset to review and validate the refund approach and program. At the same time, we have taken steps to address the root causes of the error, including changes to controls, systems and processes.” 

In total, about 216,000 customers are affected and a total of approximately $80 million is being refunded. The average refund per customer is around $370, which includes interest. 

“Whilst we will always do our best to minimise errors, this shows our commitment to proactively identify any historic errors, and put them right,” said Mr Comyn.

Almost all customers will be repaid in full by the end of 2015. Any customer with questions can contact the bank on 1800 785 683 (9am-5pm AEST Monday-Friday).