Firstmac

Absolutely useless, incompetent and unbelievably slow. My wife and I have been trying to do a simple refinance of an investment property we own to access the equity for another purchase and both the refinance and the pre approval have been dragging on for nearly 4 months. We paid for a valuation out of our own pockets and because of Firstmacs… Read more

incompetence and feet dragging they’ve had to order ANOTHER one because the first one went out of date. We have watched many investment opportunities come and go in this time and have subsequently instructed our broker to cancel our finance requests with them and find another lender. Absolutely disgusted and in disbelief that a simple refinance takes this long. Would not recommend them to anyone.

Not impressed with first mac. We refinanced with them and they delayed paying out the previous loan provider. We were told settlement had taken place but the money was not transferred !! Why are they allowed to tell you settlement was completed when it wasn't is my question. Would not recommend this lot be very careful. Update 5 days now still waiting!! Show details

Broker working with Kristina Lewis at Firstmac – Brilliant to work with. Not any one loan, consistently good level of service, knowledge and ability to achieve beneficial outcomes for customers. Kristina Lewis is a FANTASTIC BDM !!! Always available to assist with questions and problem solving. She simply gets thing done !! Show details ·  1

Feeling better with Firstmac now – Providing the review after my pervious review dated 18-Dec-2023, I would like to provide positive feedback on Firstmac Mortgage. They have called me immediately and provided the right response. So far, I have not faced any issues, and the bank responds quite positive. However their mobile app is bit slow, but can be manageable. Thanks a lot for calling me, I have waited for one year to monitor how you are doing. Show reply

Highly recommend for Construction and Refinance – I recently secured a construction loan and refinance through Firstmac recomended by my broker, and I am extremely impressed with their service. Despite having stable jobs and a high income compared to the national average, other banks and lenders were unable to assist us. Firstmac, however, stepped up and provided the support we needed. Their… Read more ·  1

construction lending team was exceptional, arranging inspections for first stage of completion and ensuring super-fast payments. The entire process was hassle-free and efficient, literally taking me just 5 minutes to complete. I am particularly grateful for their dedication and professionalism, which made a significant difference in our experience. Thank you, Firstmac, for your outstanding service and for making what seemed impossible, possible. I highly recommend Firstmac to anyone in need of a refinance and construction loan or refinance.

I had a very frustrating experience trying to refinance my loan away from Firstmac. Throughout the process, I was constantly following up just to get the indicative payout figure — something that should have been straightforward. After finally getting a number and depositing the shortfall into the loan account, I called the night before… Read more

settlement to double-check everything. To my surprise, I was given the wrong payout figure. I spent over an hour on the phone with them, and only then did they apologise and send me what was supposed to be the final amount.

I assumed everything was now in order — but the next day, I got another call saying there was another shortfall. I honestly thought it was a joke. How is that even possible after all the back-and-forth?

The experience showed me that I simply can’t trust Firstmac. The process was chaotic, and it was clear that half of the discharge team had no idea what they were doing. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone looking for a smooth experience

Very Poor Firstmac – Firstmac mortgage reduced at a lower rate than banks when interest rates decreased and stayed at something like 3.5% while banks were at 1.9 - 2.5. When the interest rates increased, Firstmac increased their rates at every increase in interest rates and I feel ripped off by them. When it came to discharging my mortgage they add another $2000… Read more

on to their account without first informing me. I feel they drained everything from me and gave nothing back.

I don’t know how Firstmac got to be the top non bank for 5 years because they offered nothing and I wish I stayed with RAMS.

Worst home loan ever – We were granted a construction loan through a broker with Firstmac. Our builder took forever to do our build (two years). The only thing we ever heard from Firstmac was that they would support our delays in building by increasing our interest rate just because it's past a year. I was in disbelief when I received that info but they didn't care and… Read more

apparently there was nothing they could do because it was standard practice. So now the house is built and we are changing companies because why would we stay with a company like that. But they won't just give me a discharge form. I am having to jump through hoops. I just wanted others to know what they are getting into before signing up with the bank. And now after sitting waiting to talk to someone they still won't answer my calls. I will be going to the ombudsman about them and putting in a complaint.

Fed up - I’m refinancing to another provider with a higher interest rate – In the past 12 mths as a customer, I’ve had to raise a complaint to AFCA for Firstmac’s deceit and incompetence. A number of departments were not aligned in comms impacting me financially. Firstmac paid me to settle the dispute. Then I sold my investment property and Firstmac held the mortgage and it took 24hrs for them to put my excess funds into… Read more

my Firstmac account. This was all coupled with a terrible experience when I joined Firstmac, whereby they lost documents, deferred settlement with nil comms etc. All this in 12mths. I’m now in the process of refinancing to another lender at a higher rate. Steer clear. This organisation is completely incompetent and is not worth the hassle and pain.

Firstmac bad service – I have been a customer of Firstmac for 7 year I have not had the service that a profession bank should give its customers. I'm about to move Banks for the following reasons. 1; no customer service 2: data breach person information was hacked 3: the call center is less then help full never get back to you when they say they will 4; can never get… Read more

someone from Australia to speak to you 5: put on hold for extended periods of time only to have them hang up on you or the call drops out no one will call you back 6: if you want a stress free live do not use this bank 7: staff have no idea of company produces 8:

Just wait till you require some financial assistance An then you will see the true colours of Firstmac BEWARNED – Wait till you need some finacial assistance or fall ill or have finacial issues and then see how Firstmac treats you!!!they are nice when you keep your mouth shut and pay the max fees/interest/penalty known to man but wait till you ask for some help ,they will literally laugh in your face .They will squeeze every last cent out of you they will… Read more

charge you the highest interest rate and slap the maximum penalties on you, they lie constantly and cannot be trusted . I have honestly never in my life been treated so badly like the cold hearted people at Firstmac have treated me!!!

Don’t use – Poor data security. I have never even had an account with these amateurs simply applied for a loan and somehow my identity and data got retained and stolen. What a joke and no accountability or reimbursement for the time and stress to replace all my identity documents. Took a month for them to notify me and just a generic email. Show details

Scary experience – Hi, I got an email from u guys yesterday stating that there has been a security incident and that all my personal details had been leaked. Surprisingly this morning my card had fradulent transactions worth $500 within a span of 2 minutes. From the reviews i went thru only today i understand there has been a security breach last few months and… Read more

looks like u guys have done nothing about it or got no idea how to stop this which to me is ridiculous and outrageous. When customers trust u keep them safe.

Poor cybersecurity – Very poor cybersecurity for this day and age. Critical customer details leaked. A news article reported these as leaked in April, I only received notice of the security breach from Firstmac in the second week of May.

No digital security! Leaked all customer information! – Slow poor customer service. Forced to go digital despite security concerns Leaked all customers personal information. Only put security measures in after the fact. Show details

You're the Ultimate Worst Failmac – I refinanced my SMSF loan to Failmac in 2021. I was sucked in by their enticingly low interest rates. However, by November 2023, amidst a series of interest rate hikes, my rate had surged to 7.99%. Despite my repeated attempts to negotiate a rate review through multiple calls to Failmac, they consistently declined, in stark contrast to experiences… Read more

I've had with major banks over the past 17 years. The big four banks, often criticised, have shown willingness to conduct rate reviews, typically resulting in marginal reductions between 0.03% to 0.06%. Given the rising cost of living & the significantly higher interest rate of 7.99% compared to standard home loans, I made another plea to Firstmac for a rate review. Unfortunately, they remained resolute in their refusal, displaying little understanding or empathy for the financial strain caused by their elevated rates. Disappointingly, after this conversation, three police officers arrived at my home (important to note I did not behave rudely or abusively towards Firstmac). This incident highlights the deplorable & unprofessional manner in which Firstmac handles customer requests for assistance. Their proclaimed commitment on their website, "Helping people is at the heart of everything we do," is a far cry from reality, this statement is actually misleading & deceptive. Their service is horrible, every time I call, your approximately number 38 in the queue, usual wait time is approximately 1hr. They offer the option for a return call, but it could take up to three days, an insufficient response time. Blaming COVID for these extended waits seems baseless & excuses their inadequate service. Even when they eventually return your call, the constant need to put you on hold for clarifications portrays a lack of professionalism & expertise within their staff. Firstmac ought to be ashamed of their treatment of customers. Having since refinanced, I now have peace of mind knowing my hard-earned money is no longer in the hands of such a money sucking organisation. Firstmac management should reconsider there morals as human beings, when dealing with customers. As navigating their bureaucracy is an ordeal. Engaging with Firstmac seems to invite unnecessary pain & frustration. For any insane reason you do proceed to engage Firstmac, you deserve the pain & suffering that you will eventually endure. Firstmac is useless, hopeless, incompetent, unprofessional, unreliable, unhelpful, just plain useless grubs. In conclusion, Firstmac's track record reflects incompetence, unprofessionalism, & unreliability. They allure customers with low initial rates but eventually burn you & any hard earned money you have. It’s incompetent amateur banks like Firstmac, why there needs to be a royal commission into the banking lending sector again. Regrettably, the details I've highlighted are only part of the ordeal Firstmac has subjected us to. Avoid Firstmac like the plague. They are an incompetent, time wasting, nerve shredding disaster of a company that deserves to be shut down. They don’t deliver on their promises, they treat customers with utter disdain, and they’ll leave you regretting every second you trusted them. This isn’t just a warning, this is a demand: Stay. Away.

Best banking option I've had – Moved to Firstmac from BOQ. Have to say the process was well handled without any problems. I find their website and app fine. Just wish they'd introduce a credit card option to their stable. Show details ·  1

Firstmac Horible Online Banking Website – I have found the Firstmac online banking portal to be very non intuitive. I currently have had many home loans and bank providers over the years and I find the Firstmac website to be very hard to understand as it totally different from other lenders and normal forms of online banking. I do not recommend Firstmac if you want easy transactions, want to view your transaction history and balances at a glance or other general banking with ease. Show details

Unprofessional and Slack – Unprofessional and down right slack. DONT TRUST THEM. Get other banks to process application as backup.. Kept changing requirements after conditional approval given in writing. Then to pull the pin on the loan the day finance was due even after 2 extenions because they didn't do thier job and check the build contract with LMI over a rule that the… Read more

auxiliary unit wasnt big enough. Huge list of conditions making me close down all my overdraw facilities and even a solar loan which was 4k interest free which I now have to pay the interest I'm losing from the money being on my home loan. Discusting institution who clearly enjoy messing with people's lives going by other 1 star ratings aswell.

Locked Out of Accounts all Weekend – Had to change password which is pretty standard thing these days and then it locks me out. Says contact Customer Service so used the chat to get told it can only be rectified Mon-Fri. Very poor service for such a simple requirement. Show details

Great rates but poor app and IT reliability and slow processing – First Mac have consistently been the lowest interest rate for my mortgages however be cautious of fixed settlement dates as they are notorious for taking excessive time to process loan documents. They take at least double what other banks do to process payment and there is often issues with internal communication and you find you have to submit… Read more

documents multiple times. Also when using their app and online banking there are frequently problems. In December 23 any future dated payments could not be lodged - it took over a week for this to be corrected and there was no communication. Currently all scheduled payments do not appear in either the app or online including BPAY that I literally just set up. They can never give you a timeline of when these issues are fixed and you can't reach anyone on the phone outside business hours or on weekends so have to rely on the chat feature which frequently drops out during your chat.

Slow response – Had a mortgage broker who did most of the chasing up with Firstmac. Slow to get pre-approval. Slow to get unconditional approval (essentially left it til last day of cooling off period to get it) Slow to certify loan to book in settlement date. Essentially everything just scrapped by the deadlines. Communication poor, instead of email/post you the… Read more

documents; you had to log into the application portal. Maybe let your clients know that the welcome documents will be there after settlement?!?! Stressful experience from pre-approval to settlement. One of the worse lenders I've dealt with

Perfect, can’t flaw them – The application was simple, quick and easy. After my lender stuffed me around, I had finance organised, completed and approved with them in less than 24 hours. Show details ·  1