Tens of thousands of Australians to be handed a big cash boost after major bank admits making a $1.8million blunder
- Westpac admitted to charging 30,000 credit card customers with annual fees
- Customers also had interest added to the annual fees which will now be repaid
- ‘System calculation error’ was blamed for error which will see $1.8 million paid
- Westpac will call every customer who was affected and apologise for the slip up
One of Australia’s big banks has come under fire after a massive blunder which saw customers overcharged.
Westpac has admitted to charging 30,000 credit card customers with annual fees which should have been waived.
Customers also had interest added to the annual fees which will now be repaid.
A ‘system calculation error’ was blamed for the error which will see $1.8 million paid back to customers, Herald Sun reported.
One of Australia’s big banks has come under fire after a massive blunder which saw customers overcharged (stock)
Following a review of products and services, the mistake was discovered and Westpac will be contacting customers individually to apologise.
‘We apologise for the error and want to assure our customers this has been fixed,’ a Westpac spokesman told the publication.
Customers who have a 55 Day Card credit card will not pay an annual fee in the first year, which will save you $30, and in the following years if you spend $5,000.
‘When you opened your Westpac 55 Day Credit Card, you paid no annual card fee in the first year and, in the second year the fee should have been waived,’ a letter to a customer read.
‘Due to a calculation error, this didn’t happen. Interest may also have been charged on the fee. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Westpac has admitted to charging 30,000 credit card customers with annual fees which should have been waived (stock)
‘Having identified the problem, we have: refunded the annual fee (if not previously refunded); refunded the interest charged on the fee; and included an amount for compensation.
‘The refund will be credited to your credit card account or, for closed accounts, to an alternative Westpac account and will appear as ‘Fee Refund’ on your statement.’
The slip up comes only a month after Westpac was forced to repay 40,000 mortgage customers tens of millions of dollars after they were charged incorrectly on their loans.