Westpac Basic

OK – I had changed banks about two years ago because of the lack of customer service from NAB. I had opened a basic account and was told to avoid fees, keep the balance above a certain amount. So I had been doing just that, until end of last year when I checked my statement, I found that they had been charging me fees every month since December. I quickly rand to query it and the gentleman explained that the minimum limit was actually $500 more than what I was told. It didn't make sense because, they were not charging me fees before Dec so he reversed the fees crediting it back. So now I keep my balance higher than I normally would but I had noticed that they are still charging me a fee. I dont really have to explain to them why they have to credit it back, v=because thay cant even work out why I was charged. Lets see what happens next month. Good phone customer service compared to other banks.

teller staff are much friendlier.

Will credit fee back. Continually charging me fees when they aren't supposed to. Very inconvenient to ring them ll the time.

Excellent – Westpac have provided an account for low income earners in receipt of pensions or benefits and it is certainly worthwhile if you fall into that category. It is great that there is no fees. It is also possible to link this account to internet savings accounts so you are able to still get interest on your money if you move it across. The staff are fantastic and the customer service is excellent. Direct debits can come out as per normal. There are no charges for ATM or over the counter transactions and eftpos is possible on your card. This is a great basic account, with nothing to dislike about it.

Good – If you forget to leave money in the account for an authorised transaction the account cant be over drawn so then you will be charged with interest from the people trying to take money ie. car insurance etc. Otherwise the account is good, they dont charge any fees at all, I also have this account hooked up with a debit mastercard. Havent had any problems otherwise. Finally a bank account with no fees what so ever. They say they dont charge you with an over drawn fee but thats because they dont even let the authorised transactions go out in the first place.