Commonwealth Bank forced to refund millions of customers

Commonwealth Bank customers have had their account balances restored after a glitch led to unexpected repeat transactions.

The bank apologised after some customers’ payments were unexpectedly repeated on Saturday morning, allegedly leaving some accounts overdrawn.

The number of people impacted and the reason behind the issue have not been made public.

The bank said it had completed the process to reverse duplicate transactions and addressed other issues with its app by 5.30pm AEDT.

‘We’re sorry for the inconvenience,’ the bank said.

‘Thanks for being patient with us.

‘Please be assured any fees charged will be refunded.

‘Customers do not need to contact us to request this.’

Commonwealth Bank customers have had their rightful account balances restored after a glitch led to unexpected repeat transactions. 

An earlier statement about the glitch that the bank posted to social media prompted complaints from customers.

Some shared their concern that their accounts were overdrawn.

One irate customer branded the bank a ‘disgrace’ for the issue. 

‘Me and my partner are now stuck in Queensland unable to get to the airport because our cards are overdrawn,’ they said.

‘We are going to miss our flights! Unable to get an Uber back home even if we were to get to the airport!’

Another asked: ‘Why has CommBank just taken all the payments I’ve made this week out my account again?’

Others claimed they would ditch the bank altogether.

‘Once I get my money back I’m switching to a different bank,’ they said.

‘This is beyond just a simple apology.’

Another said their family had been left stranded because their account is overdrawn.

‘You have overdrawn my account leaving me and my family stranded this weekend. I want answers,’ they said.

The latest incident came after the bank on Thursday apologised and agreed to pay $7.5million after sending 170 million emails that breached Australian anti-spam laws.

The marketing messages sent to CBA customers between November 2022 and April 2024 breached the Spam Act 2003 because they did not include a way to unsubscribe, the Australian Communications and Media Authority said.

A total of 34 million messages were sent to people who had either not consented or who had withdrawn their consent to receive such messages, the authority said.

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