Bank cuts carer’s lifeline

A Cranbourne mother and full-time carer says she was left “financially stranded” after Bendigo and Adelaide Bank suddenly closed her account without warning or reason. Former Berwick resident Katie Baddack had trusted Bendigo Bank’s Berwick branch with her family’s finances for more than 14 years. On 3 November, she logged into her banking app to find her account gone, later learning that the branch had closed it without notice. “I had no account confirmation that my account would be closed and still no letter or correspondence,” Ms Baddack said. “They could not find anything on their system that there was a letter, call, SMS noting that the account was going to be closed.” The closure came just before a public holiday. As a full time carer, she had no access to government payments for her partner, a returned soldier (medically discharged from the military), and their four young children, two of whom are neurodivergent and require daily medication. She was left disadvantaged and inconveniently unable to cover essential daily expenses for her family. Ms Baddack was also unable to deposit her income that week because she did not have the required 100-point identification to open a new bank account. “It was distressing, emotionally and mentally disheartening,” she said. “The closure of my bank account without any form of notice, especially a day before a public holiday, has left our family in complete limbo financially.” Prior to this, Ms Baddack had spent over nine months begging the Berwick branch to cancel a direct debit she never authorised, which repeatedly pushed her account into overdraft. Each week, a $10 fee was charged and later reversed when her government payments arrived. Unable to get answers from the branch, she lodged a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA found that the Bendigo Bank at Berwick Branch Victoria closed the account due to an overdrawn balance of $10 which the bank takes out when the government payments come into the account. “It seemed like due diligence and check on incurring and regular deposits from the bank were not considered before closing the account,” the formal complaint stated. “In addition, the Bendigo Bank account pays for the complainant’s loan of $300 weekly which will not be impacted which will affect her loan repayments and credit history/score. “The bank has been taking the $10 fee out every time the deposits from the government come into the complainant’s account.” Ms Baddack is expecting those payments to go in there on the due date but now, she will be impacted financially due banking process After AFCA’s involvement and raising the issue with Gazette, she ‘strangely’ received an email on 7 November confirming that Bendigo Bank had processed a $1,000 goodwill compensation and would open a concession account. “I’m still not happy with the outcome they have offered as $1000 doesn’t cover the emotional toll it’s had on our family, doesn’t even cover what I lost from the week that they closed my account,” Ms Baddack said. “If this happens to anyone else, I hope the banks do their due diligence before closing a vulnerable person’s account.” However, the compensation has not yet been received, and no update has been provided on the new account. Despite the difficulties, the family managed to get by this week with support from Frankston’s RSL Veteran Welfare Centre, where her partner Rick Cachia is involved with the sub-branch. Natalie Cameron, Lead Ombudsman Banking and Finance said many Australians struggling particularly with the cost of living, often receive no response when seeking help from their financial firm. “This can leave individuals feeling unheard, unsupported, and even more vulnerable during what is already a stressful time,” she said. “While our complaint data shows a 17 per cent drop from the previous year, there is a concerning, continued trend: failure to respond to requests for assistance. “This was the most common financial difficulty complaint we received, with 2,890 cases, which is almost unchanged from last year’s 2,838. While this category of complaint includes a complaint about “an inadequate response”, in many cases there was simply no response at all.” Ms Cameron added that Victorian Ombudsman is “calling on financial firms to strengthen their hardship assistance practices to ensure early identification of financial stress and extra care needs, to train staff to positively frame assistance options, such as paused enforcement and avoiding adverse credit reporting, and to reduce barriers to access, such as excessive verification requirements.” A spokesperson of the Bank said “Bendigo Bank is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers and does not comment on specific matters”.