Commonwealth Bank Standard Variable Rate

I like our branch because the lending staff are local residents which mean they know how the housing market is in our area.

It was an easy application process and the mobile app and its features make it easy to manage my loan, adjust repayments and change between interest only and principle and interest. I feel the interest rate is slightly higher than some other banks.

At CBA they over charged my home loan account while I was in Covid deferred time then the account was put into arrears by mistake. Then on top of that they do this random sweep for accounts that are in arrears so they took double payment in the month of February, three days apart and was not my fault. I was contacted by more than 8 different staff members about my arrears amount and none of them new the issue or read the previous persons notes on their system. Altogether they wasted 5 hours of my time on the phone. Only last week they finally sorted arrears amount and I’m still waiting on the second random sweep amount to be sorted out. They don’t contact you with a return number it’s always a private number and they won’t email so it’s hard to return any of their calls. I have never been in arrears or missed payments and during a tough Covid time with financial burdens this problem has not helped but rather left my family and I extremely stressed and worried. Only the last customer service girl seemed to know how to make sense of the issues, one out of 8 or more other untrained staff members. Sorry to be harsh but I’m being honest and hope others don’t suffer like I have.

I have always found Commonwealth Bank to be reasonably straightforward to deal with. I do love speaking with customer service representatives who are clear, easy to understand, helpful and patient.

Pricing is not competitive as other banks have much lower rates for the same kind of loan. Features have a redraw facility but that's it. I have never heard from the bank in 17 years after receiving the loan - I do hear from my mortgage broker - who sends me a scratchie ticket every year for Christmas. Imagine getting that from your bank - don't think so! The bank only thanks you for being a loyal customer if you walk in there and ask for service. Convenience is great through online banking, but they do not want you in the bank as they make that clear by having one teller on at lunch - very uninviting. Trust - Have they really earned the trust of the people? I would not recommend any bank to anyone unless the bank bent over backwards to give amazing services and to also keep contact with their customers.