Rosanna's Story - NAB Customer Complaints System upset Customers
There is scandal after scandal in the banking system. There is also a widespread problem of bullying customers who complain and attempts to wear consumers down to force them to settle for 10% of the agreed loss. NAB excels at this type of behaviour. The EDR system as via my own experience has been captured by the Major Banks. They are all behaving as a law unto themselves.
I was a loyal customer of NAB for 12 years. My property portfolio held a mix of residential and investment properties. The rental income from my properties was stable. I had never missed a payment with NAB for the past 12 years.
My Loan facilities were due for renewal. I decided to transfer my mortgage to another lender.
Prior to the transfer, I received a phone call NAB asking me “what it would take to stay with them?” I was told the process would take 3 - 5 days with little or no paperwork as I banked with the NAB.
Much later on I discovered misleading information and errors including incorrect valuations for a wrong address, incorrect interest rates applied, and our names were spelt incorrectly on the application. I also found an applicant’s name was missing on the LAF and mortgage insurance charges that didn’t need to be applied. At best it was sloppy assessment.
As we had already received conditional approval from another Bank, we had proceeded with the purchase of a new family vehicle. As the NAB misled us to believe they could complete the refinance within days, our liability to purchase the car came due without the funds being provided by the NAB. We lost our deposit of $5,000. We were advised at the last minute that in order to apply a lower rate to our investment loan, we were now required to pay a break fee of $15K. This meant if we broke this loan arrangement that fee would apply to switch banks.
We had internal building works booked for our family home. What was supposed to be 3 - 5 days conditional approval turned into 4 months.
Finally in November, the funds were released but the cost of staying with the NAB became visible as costs escalated and took its toll on us.
I took my grievances up with the NAB. An Officer advised that we would receive multi frequent velocity points for each loan taken out as long as we had a NAB velocity card. The application for the NAB velocity Card never arrived.
I wrote to the executive team for the NAB and the response being: “I'm so sorry to hear of your experience. Particularly given that as a senior manager in a big business you know we can do better - and we should!” The Officer appointed applied the same incorrect rate to my mortgage for the fourth time. Eventually, I took my complaint of maladministration to FOS. NAB were told to provide FOS with all details. After six months, FOS finally supplied a determination that was favourable to us.
FOS found the evidence showed the NAB's conduct was misleading because:
· conditionally approving the New Loan within three to five days was unrealistic
· the NAB could not rely on ME Bank’s property valuation and had to conduct a new valuation
· it took the NAB more than a month to complete a new valuation, and
· it took the NAB more than two months to conditionally approve the New Loan.
The losses could not be awarded as they were outside their jurisdiction and FOS “could not compel NAB to provide to provide further information.
Today I am $71,699 worse off after taking that initial call from NAB . On-top of these costs, the NAB refused to credit the promised velocity points to our existing account. NAB recently sent me a Settlement Agreement which offered $10,500: ie not negotiable; no further claim and, a non-disparaging agreement
NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn has stated he wishes to “change the culture at NAB and respond to the public criticisms of the banking industry in a more overt way”.
My concerns are that when you start investigating how many customers are truly unhappy with the NAB “experience” you do wonder how determined NAB are to mend their ways. How banks can simply ask its customers to respect them when they have total disregard and respect for its customers is unfathomable.
NAB also suggests through its senior executives that “we need to build trust and confidence in the community.” “we want to be as good with people as we are with money.” I am a NAB customer and I certainly don’t feel like I can trust the NAB in future. I certainly don’t have confidence in this bank. Despite the bank and FOS admitting there were errors and faults, the outcome for my family and I is bitter disappointment in the way NAB has treated us. This company is directly responsible for over $72,000 of damage to us.
Then came the NAB bog standard “flick” letter that I assume all aggrieved consumers have experienced and received:
"I am sorry that you remain dissatisfied with NAB’s response to your complaint. As I hope you can understand, NAB has spent considerable time and effort in attempting to reach an outcome that you find acceptable on this matter. Our offer ($10,000) remains open and I encourage you to give it some further consideration.”
"Dissatisfied", is clearly an understatement. Why can't a Bank CEO work that out? Why do these arrogant Bankers continue to think they can ADMIT the crime/errors whatever they wish to call it and then offer us a pitiful 10% settlement, demand secrecy and a range of other bank favourable “conditions.” Is my silence worth only $10,000? Do I just right off the other $60,000 of loss?
What happened to ‘do the right thing’?
We all need to speak out because consumer groups are saying this is what the Major Banks are all doing – causing the customers losses stress and then when we complain we are all treated like mushrooms! Andrew Thorburn needs lessons on how not to handle a crisis!!
Obviously, the executive emails back and forth address none of my concerns outlined in my letter to the Customer Advocacy Service. I continue to demand a proper response in-keeping with banking “best practice.”
In life, many people come and go. We meet different people through business ventures, or simply the general hustle and bustle of everyday life. During this whole ordeal of 15 months, I have come across a few decent senior NAB employees that work within this corrupt organisation. I obviously reached out to them for support and resolution however they were given strict instructions to stop all communication once the settlement offer has been made. The arrogance of ‘take it or leave it’ is disgraceful.
How sad, a little person like me has to battle with this bank monolith and demand that common decency comes into play. No wonder every day the headlines for NAB and the other Major Banks scream out SCANDALS.
NAB executives and in particular Andrew Thorburn are behaving like a bully in the playground. They use FOS as their private pet just merely taking orders from the bank. There is no enforcement of law, no justice and no fairness. We now feel the “errors” are deliberate and part of a mass “Intention to Deceive Plan.” Banks make money from these “errors.” Customers lose.
I am saying to NAB: You are in the wrong....we all agree on that bit. Just pay up 100% of my losses please and do it swiftly.
All those who have suffered loss should be taking a stand: that banks cannot be trusted. Their behaviour screams volumes to me!
Rosanna K