Westpac Bank: NZ overpays ten million dollars - Instablogs
Westpac Bank: NZ overpays ten million dollars
Marie Hazledine-Barber , Picton: May 22 2009
Made Popular May 22 2009
New Zealand :

Westpac Bank: NZ overpays ten million dollars

Banks have a lot to answer for. If a citizen makes a small mistake, or unable to pay, banks are merciless. If a citizen negotiates with the bank to pay there is still no mercy.
A couple in Rotorua North Island of New Zealand applied for a small loan of $10,000. Westpac Bank deposited 10 million dollars into their bank account; six million dollars seems to have disappeared and so have the couple who have left the country. It appears they flew to Hong Kong then possibly to China.

New Zealanders are mixed in the opinion, some say good on them. Some say they should have returned the money. The banking clerk made a human error however the checks and balances highlight the systemic failed systems. The law is that if knowingly the money in an account is not yours and you use it is fraud.

What is little known when the bank makes an error for the smaller citizen the angst, grief it causes along with loss of face and humiliation has far reaching emotional effects.

After the laughter dies down, the banks seem to be a law unto themselves, somehow it is always the client’s fault, no wonder the writers bank account shows as such, and then the amount twice written from a request for a statement for proof of income became a joke. Apart from the fact the explanation from the bank is simply it should have been zeros. Irrespective there it is in black and white on the official statement print-out the amount.

It may not be right but that is not the point. The point is again highlighting the systemic blunder that by its insidious nature has cause and effect. The document is a legal document, compensation and interest should be paid.

It may not have been accessible through normal channels however with some manipulation this writer could have been in Paris by now.

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1 Stars
Richard
Wellington, New Zealand
Make a mistake in their favour and they don't pay any extra interest or for the cost to the consumer to fix the problem - but when they cock up they don't want us to get away with it. I'm with you Oliver & AndrewC - this is just a cost of doing business poorly without due care and attention. If the banks can't perform properly then they have no business telling others to.
1 Stars
Desirae
Toronto, Canada
I'd say take what you can get, banks only rip you off anyway..LOL i think it's funny even though i couldn't do it myself but it's still funny...
(Global Perspectives)
1 Stars
Yash
Bhopal, India
I cannot believe the attitude of the idiots here. These people have stolen what is effectively deposits of hard kiwi savers. They will be found and they should be punished
1 Stars
Rikki
Liverpool, United Kingdom
If someone makes a mistake it is that somebody's responsibility to learn from it, and fix it so that it doesn't happen again. A mistake or an error is something you technically cannot take back. Why are the lucky people being targeted here, why isn't the person who made the mistake being targeted.
(Global Perspectives)
1 Stars
Sarah
Wellington, New Zealand
Yesterday news tells us that banks took almost $11 billion last year in just fees, Good on the couple. I wish I could do the same.
1 Stars
Shameem
Aligarh, India
They should return the money couple years later, just as the banks do when they accidentally take peoples money...
1 Stars
Ryan
Denver, United States
It's interesting how people appear to feel that because it was the Banks fault that it ok for these them to take it, I am sure it would be a different story if the money was meant to go into their account & ended up somewhere else, they would scream blue murder..
1 Stars
Binoli
Sydney, Australia
I can't believe everyone is supporting these people. Whether the bank made the error or not, this is stealing!
1 Stars
As the week unfolds on this story an elderly woman had her Westpac account frozen when the bank put her into one hundred million dollars overdrawn she was unable to pay for her groceries or petrol.

That is until Westpac were able to sort out the error. No I agree to take the money is wrong however the grief banks cause,with errors, corrupt behavior, lack of ability to negotiate, investment errors the list goes on.

New Zealanders were encouraged to save, invest their money and many did. We had the National Superannuation fund, then the Consolidated Fund, now Kiwi Saver, where has all the money gone?

Encouraged to use investment portfolios, or the banks guidance no wonder investments have collapsed, property markets down turn, for the lack of due diligence as the careless and greedy plunder ordinary citizens.
1 Stars
P.S I have to add that the mention of the poor woman unable to buy her groceries or pay for petrol is only one of many stories of major errors by Westpac that has unfolded in New Zealand this week, told by ordinary citizens. This seems to have given a voice to those who have been silent and tried to deal with devastating issues alone.
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