Unable to report an unauthorised transaction. I am writing this while waiting to report unauthorised transaction on my bank account. It is now well into the second hour as I am being transferred from one department to another including an accidental, or rather incompetent, transfer to Bank of Melbourne. I spoke to 3 different people before… Read more
transferred to [Name Removed] (actually I asked to be transferred to the supervisor, but that word was too complicated to be understood by the previous agent) who advised me that she is just an agent, offered to record a complaint, but never did. She transferred me to [Name Removed] who supposedly is the supervisor. [Name Removed] is the one who explained to me that she works for a different bank and transferred me back to Westpac. During these transfers, I collected an enormous amount of sorry, apologies etc. Four times I had to confer my identity including my home address, phone number date of birth etc. I think these agents were trained by Spanish Inquisition. Now I am transferred back to Westpac and talking to [Name Removed]. After identifying myself for the 5th time [Name Removed] seems to be taken some action, but I could be wrong. I am still on hold. It has been already 1 hour and 15 minutes that I am trying to report this unauthorised transaction. Mind you this is the bank that regularly advertising how good they are guarding us from frauds and scams. I have been to optimistic - [Name Removed] just informed me that she cannot stop this transaction because some internal procedure. Scammer take note it is straightforward to steal money from this bank. The fraud team here is absolutely incompetent. Well, [Name Removed] transferred me to [Name Removed] from Digital Fraud who advised me that probably she is the wrong person to talk to. Meanwhile, I am back on hold. It has been over 90 minutes of this call. Enough time to complete soccer match. For the third time I asked to speak to the supervisor but every time I am transferred to another agent, which means again I have to go through identifying myself, giving my phone number, receive SMS and read it back. INCOMPETENCE OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE!!! Anyway, I am about to give up. I think there is no hope to get some sense from these agents. I already warned [Name Removed], [Name Removed], [Name Removed] and [Name Removed] that if this transaction will go through Westpac will have to wear the cost. Anna disappeared on the 100th minute. It looks like the extra time is inevitable. Perhaps that is how Westpac is getting ready for the World Cup. The fascicle continues - I am being transferred again. Anna said it won't take long. Now I am talking to [Name Removed] - person number 7 of this call. He said that he cannot stop the transaction, but he will file the complaint and my demand for compensation. Again, I'd like to repeat my invitation to all the scammers of the world - Westpac CANNOT stop you. Come and rob them (joke).
Absolute disgrace of a place. I have now finally been shown just how low some people’s humanity can really go. Bare with me please as I try to explain, because if it weren’t happening to my family as we speak, I would think I was writing the plot to a Steven Spielberg horror film. They blocked my father’s account because they claimed his voice no… Read more
longer matched his login voiceprint. My father is seriously ill and only has days left to live. He barely has any energy, wears adult nappies, and is in no condition to be dragged around.
We were told, “There’s nothing we can do unless you bring your father in.”
So we drove my dying father there while he was shaking and humiliated, after soiling himself in the car, only to be made to wait over an hour just to hear: “Sorry, your account will remain locked due to security reasons.”
They have taken away the last bit of money my father had to spend on himself, his children, and his grandchildren. We can’t even organise his funeral because the account is still blocked. He cannot access medication because his money is locked away.
You are literally making a dying man suffer in his final days.
The complete lack of humanity shown here is absolutely appalling. Disgraceful.
The service or NON service from this bank is the highest anyway. There is no possible way to speak to a human even just to ask a simple question all you ever get redirected to is the st^pid online Bot that doesn't understand most questions anyway. This is a terrible Bank and can I suggest that if you are a new customer look elsewhere, somewhere that offers service!! Show details
Reviews with attachments
Westpac AI won't let me get through to a human. I want to activate my card with PINN but it will not let me do it. It wants me to phone the 1300 when I try to activate it on line for a pinn number which I have used for decades yet if I try to get money out of an atm it says incorrect pinn so I have to keep activating and trying to change it but… Read more
it won't let me.
Westpac no longer uses humans to talk to so you can never get anywhere with them at all. AI needs to be banned on all help lines everywhere.
I've attached what happens on their online page.
Go to their branches as they say go to online pages and clueless staff have no idea.
- +7
Westpac needs to come clean with the Australian public about the Zenik/PIA Mortgage Broker fraud I’m renting a property which is mortgaged through St. George Bank - A division of Westpac and I believe it is a property bought using a fraudulent mortgage through Zenik Brokers. I’m disgusted that the banks have tried to sweep this under a rug and… Read more
no criminal charges by all the fraudster applicants have been laid. People like me now have to rent through these fraudsters and pay them out hard earned cash.
Westpac - you need to update the Australian public.
Extremely tough to get your balance transfer right. I was provided with a low interest balance transfer credit card that had 0% interest on balance transfer and 0% balance transfer fee. I made sure this information was correct when applying for the card by carefully reading T&C's. Frustration 1: Long and painful credit card processing times The… Read more
credit card processing time was close to 4-6 weeks. They were asking documents of my home loan closure. I provided them with the statements of closure which they did not accept. They wanted the letter of closure which the other bank did not provide. So I had to arrange it and submit it online. My submission was not picked, and I had to call them like 3-4 time and each call took around an hour to mention that I have submitted all the pending docs. At last, the card gets approved. Frustration 2: Incorrect interest rates and fees charged When a BT was performed, I was charged with an interest of 2.99% which was incorrect. Frustration 3 : Useless online and call centre support staff and each one is out of sync of the previous one who you reach out as they dont make any notes. Before making the BT I ring the call centre and make sure there is not interest on BT and I get a confirmation from the call centre about this.So I do a BT and I get charged a interest of 2.99% on this. I ring the call centre the second time to sort it out, AI wastes like 15 minutes of my time and finally connects me to a real person who was even hopeless. she was literally dozing over the call. After a long wait and like putting me on hold for around 5 times, she agrees to refund the interest rate charged and said that there wont be any BT fee as well on my BT. I made sure this information was right by double confirming it with her and she assures it. To make the things worse, the next day I see $67.44 been deducted as BT fee and no refund on the interest rate charged. So instead of refunding my interest amount they in-fact charged me a BT fee again and no refund has been made till date.
Summary : Do not go with this bank, they are hopeless and will cheat you. Had to give them one star to write a review. This bank needs to be investigated by the Ombudsman for their scams.
I am making a warning - the bank can close accounts and restrict services without your consent and rebuff inquiries. Even when you refer the matter to AFCA the bank will remain firm in not giving answers. The organisation has poor internal communicaton when you are dealing with fall out. I have a screen shot below of the section of Westpac… Read more
Contract. Essentially what you think you have signed with bank is meaningless as the can at their descretion change their terms, close accounts and restrict functionality of loans. And according to AFCA they are under no obligation to explain way. Westpac use this to hide behind to avoid transperancy and accountability.
Only company that is going backwards in technology. Apparently you can’t retrieve your loan contract online. You have to physically go in to a branch and collect a hard copy of it. Show details
Latest follow-ups
This Pakenhambranch should get an award for appalling customer service. I wonder if it is a franchise as their counter staff seem oblivious to the concept of best practice, courtesy and manners. My first experience at the beginning of 26 with 1 of… Read more
the female tellers was an attempt to change some currency to higher denomination for an upcoming trip overseas ( you get a better exchange rate) at which point I was told that they don't normally do that but on this occasion it was OK. My second experience for a similar transaction 4 months later I was told that I don't have a proper account and my proffered W'pac credit card was not an account and that the government was cutting down on money laundering. So here I stand a money launderer ($1000) with no apparent account with W'pac. How this branch and its' personnel are allowed to continue with this inappropriate business model is incomprehensible. The level of staff training if ever carried out with the tellers in particular obviously needs a year long refresher or staff movement to remedy. In comparison my wife's Bank ( Bendigo 50 m away) - no problems and they even manage to behave in a friendly and courteous manner as does the CBA across the road. NO the W'pac branch in Pakenham will not be appearing in the local business awards for a long time to come. There must be some competition apparently between branches as to which can best emulate that English comedy series (Little Britain) where the "computer says NO".
Follow-up · Given that the Carol Beer types are still there when I looked through the door recently I have NOT GONE BACK for any teller "service". Feedback from Wpac following my 1st complaint direct to them in which it was suggested I try the Fountain gate branch was not heeded. I suspect that the Pakenham branch is a lost cause.
I found a fraudulent transaction on my account from a company I have never heard of for the amount of $175.94 AUD I contacted Westpac about the transaction and they have declined my request for a refund. The company is called ESR CyberSphere France… Read more
and apparently they sell tech products, but I didn’t purchase anything from them and I don’t have any emails from them confirming my transaction. I will be switching banks as this is unacceptable, I have been with westpac since 2012
Follow-up · Still no response from Westpac’s team I have received emails from the company saying that they don’t have any record of me buying anything from them, Westpac is not a good bank at all
I have been a customer of Westpac Bank for over 50 years and have been very happy with them until recently. I wanted to invest some money with them, but was totally unable to contact anyone from Westpac in two weeks. I finally gave up and am looking… Read more
for a bank that still gives service; any suggestions would be appreciated. The rot with Westpac started some time ago, when I wrote on this forum about an interesting initiative by the manager to supply rows of chairs for the customers while they wait! They are waiting for assistance, perhaps you should supply assistance. Once again I would love to hear from anyone in WA who actually still has a bank that gives a service.
Follow-up · After my last very negative review about the seriously declining Westpac service, I needed to revisit the branch and was staggered by the fact the branch was almost empty. The staff were as amazed as myself by the disappearing throungs usually encountered. While I would love to think that I was the architect for this renaissance, I think it more… Read more
Positive reviews
My credit card was scammed and initially the response I received from Westpac was not encouraging as they did not appear to care much. However I eventually got through to the fraud section and made my case and within a week the money was refunded. Show details
Find out how Westpac compares to other Banks
Know better, choose better.
I don't know why people gave 1 star. I attended the Booragoon branch (WA) 15 mins earlier than the appointment time. Met with Alisha and she sat down with me straight away. She explained there was a block on my ID that's why I could not sign up online and needed to attend in person to complete the sign up. She got everything up and going and it… Read more
was a customer service experience. I admitted I left Westpac years ago because of the bad customer service. The app certainly has improved and more easier to use. For this review I give 5 star
After the Westpac online service failed to process my ID when attempting to open an account, I visited the Maroochydore branch for assistance. Stacey was very polite, helpful, and professional. Show details
Negative reviews
I'm trying to get Card Disputes to help me with an issue. 3 TIMES they have ask, and I have emailed them exactly what they asked for in terms of documentation and proof of the issue, and 3 times they have asked for it again and again. It's now been 10 days since the THIRD send-through of ALL the info, and they are simply ghosting me, entirely!!! Pathetic lack of assistance and follow-through. Not held accountable in any way.
Went to refinance. They delayed, asked for more details, was given to them, they then choose worst option, after an exceptional credit check and rating. If you have a family business don't go with Westpac they don't support family businesses and have terrible family business views. We are now moving all of our accounts away from Westpac to another bank. Show details
We tried to refinance with Westpac we have been with them since 2019 (7 years). We have our mortgage with them and have always paid off more than the minimum. If you run a family business or starting a family don't bank with them. They used our income from last year, and my Wife was on maternity leave with our first child. She is on a public… Read more
health ongoing salary role so her wage is set now she has returned to work since the start of the year (January). Westpac also doesn't value family businesses and lowers your borrowing potential for being in one. Due to their poor family values and extremely poor service we are moving all our accounts away and starting our other loans away from them. Summary, starting a family or family business Westpac doesn't value, therefor lowers borrowing compacity.
Recent reviews
Posting on behalf of a family member. A new card was issued with a hyphen in her first name where none exists. She's been into a branch to get it fixed with the previous card and it is a documented issue. Westpac seems to be an incompetent company.
Trying to cancel an account (that I never used, that a broker wanted me to set up) - what a nightmare. AI -> 1 hour queue to get to a person -> AI making weird and inaccurate comments while I'm waiting to hear back from the person I'm supposedly connected to -> oh look another queue.. Get told not to close anything because we'll have to start from the start. Then the browser times out. I think you need more regulation.
Tried to call three different branches to open a new account. Nobody answered these calls but the recorded message assure my call was important and they would call me back. Obviously my call was not important as only 1 person ever called back, and then not helpful! Show details
I can't get to speak to anyone. The robot can't answer my question but won't connect me to a human. I live regionally and when I drove 40 minutes to the bank - after a 30 minutes wait got told I had to access what I wanted on line. I am still trying.
Find out how Westpac compares to other Banks
Know better, choose better.
they keep wanting id proof.Iv been to Doncaster branch twice in 12 months. I have a buisness acc i cant use in the morning due to westpacs incompetence. I actually transfer my own money to their st^pid safer acc and i cant use that either. The online photo id is a to disaster .Must have taken 15 photos now locked out. Why i stay with such a pack of disgusting bunce is beyond me. I make a change to bendigo bank .At least they are human.
Stay away from banks. Westpac in particular.. Trying to do id on line and take photos..bloody impossible. Resticted my buisness acc of my own money Have an important purchase on the morning to complete a job .stuffed everthing up due to their incompetence. Will be cancelling all buisness with them and go to Bendigo bank..
Rating: 0/5 Stars Westpac’s digital systems and services are completely backwards and archaic. It is, without exaggeration, the worst banking experience I could imagine. The customer support loop is an exercise in futility. Their chatbots are woefully useless, yet when you attempt to bypass them by calling the help line, you are simply directed… Read more
back to the same bots before the line goes dead. It is a circular system designed to prevent you from actually speaking to a human being.
Most absurdly, their processes seem trapped in a bygone era. To set up simple auto-repayments for a credit card, I was informed I had to print and sign a PDF, then physically take it into a branch. We are well into the 21st century; requiring physical paperwork and an in-person visit for a basic digital function is pathetic. This isn't the 90s, but Westpac hasn't seemed to notice.
Avoid this bank if you value your time or expect modern service.
Frustrating experience, zero ownership, and endless runaround I’ve spent the past month trying to organise business banking requests with Westpac and it has been a nightmare. The online systems haven’t worked, and I’ve repeatedly been told to do things the manual way. I’ve gone into the branch multiple times to update signatures and chase forms,… Read more
only for everything to revert back to where I started.
My relationship manager, Era Dhiri, has not helped resolve anything instead she keeps directing me to other bankers. Relationship managers are meant to help clients, not act as a roadblock. I’ve also been passed around to her assistant Anthony (who I rarely hear from) and then to someone named Nichole Taleski, whom I’ve never dealt with before. It feels like there are too many staff on top of each other, with no one taking real ownership. As a client, it’s impossible to follow what’s going on, and my personal admin has blown out significantly just to get simple tasks done.
I run a business with two directors, and I’m being told our structure is “complex.” If you run a business, I would not recommend banking with Westpac based on this experience.
On the positive side, Jessica Wang was initially helpful and candidly acknowledged Westpac’s system issues and that upper management is trying to resolve them. Rachael Squires was the most helpful person I dealt with she opened a joint account and actually tried to get things moving. Unfortunately, I was told I must deal directly with Era, and the runaround continued. I’ve now been to the branch for the 3rd or 4th time with still no result on something as simple as reissuing a staff debit card.
Overall, this branch gets 1 star from me. Too much handballing, zero accountability, and no progress. I strongly recommend anyone doing business to steer away from this branch
Had to verify my details like many others even though you need your i.d to open an account, ridiculous questions, lucky I didn't have to go into the bank as it's an hour away, who are asking these questions the bank or our prying government.
#Westpac Dreadful non-service!!! .. Decline transactions without any fore notice or explanation! (I had enough balance to cover groceries on the weekend but due to transaction decline I could not purchase as I had no cash on hand at all & also my atm withdrawal was declined!)) ..Then westpac don't answer 'chat' on the weekend (or ever?) don't… Read more
answer phone calls on the weekend either! How the hell a vital service as a bank can get away with such utterly deplorable substandard service - especially in this day & age, completely defies COMPREHENSION!!!!!!!
waiting for half an hr NO customer service officer picked up my call at 132032 “you won’t wait for more than 15mins to get your call answered!!!” !!!! I have make a fund transferred payment through westpac to ebay, upon my transfer and i have make sure i have enough balance in my check account to make payment! anyway I have never signed up any… Read more
overdraft facility with them.
The payment was made successfully on 25/3 n due to westpac own system fraud, incompetence, ebay later refunded my money then westpac accused me n claimed tt i have a dishonoured payment short by -$0.04 bal for my $xxxx payment!!!!
Westpac obviously has clearing issues !!!!! which means the bank itself is incompetent to handle settlements n mismanagement of timing of authorise payment !
Your “credibility” will be jeopardised by their incompetence in running banking functions!!!
If you have a choice, DO NOT use Westpac, service is bad, interest rates n charges are higher than any other big4 bank n they NO Longer good!!!
Extremely disappointed with Westpac’s customer service. I’m currently unable to use my banking app because they require me to verify my details — which I’ve already attempted to do online — but now they’re insisting I come into a branch. The problem is their hours are 9:30am–4:00pm, and I work 8:30am–5:00pm, so it’s practically impossible for me… Read more
to get there. They’re also closed on Saturdays, leaving me with no option at all.
Because of this, my account remains restricted and I’m unable to access MY OWN Money or pay my BILLS. There seems to be no flexibility or alternative solution offered, which is incredibly frustrating. Poor customer service and very inconvenient for anyone who works standard hours.
So off I go to the Ombudsman !
Extra Information
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.