ubank Closes Accounts without Understandable Reasons

LwindCheater on 03/04/2024 - 15:34
Last edited 08/04/2024 - 18:57

One day I received a bpay failure notification on a unbank account. I tried to check but found I could not access my account via Ubank APP due to the error "too many login attempts. Please reset your password." I open the APP with my fingerprint and got the error at the 1st touch.

I found no way I can reset password myself so I called Ubank but was told the internal team can't reset password before identity verification completes. An "verify your identity" Email sent to me. I had to follow it to provide my driver license and selfie.

After that I suddenly found the sender's email is "[email protected]" not any ubank domain. I felt worried and call ubank fraud line and got confirmed it's sent from ubank.

Refer to another ubank case https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/797247

Day 2: I called again to inquire the progress and was told my case has been set as prioritised one and customer service can't tell more on the work of "internal team". Soon after an Email "Off-loading in 30 days" came to ask me provide another bank's account so the fund can be transfered to before my accounts will be closed in 30 days "in accordance with our General Terms".

So far my accounts have been locked for 8 days (including 4 working days). I am in the similar difficult situation as this ubank case.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/banking/ive-been-le…

Just now the customer service team leader calIed and confirmed the fund transfer was approved. I has asked her to send me last one year's statement and compensated the potential loss if I have any loss due to arrear charge. The compensation was refuse and I was pointed to Australia financial complaints authority.
https://www.afca.org.au/

Stay away from ubank!

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Comments

  • Nillionaire on 03/04/2024 - 15:42
    +2

    After that I suddenly found the sender's email is "[email protected]" not any ubank domain. I felt worried and call ubank fraud line and got confirmed it's sent from ubank.

    Yikes

  • jv on 03/04/2024 - 16:05
    +7

    Ubank closes accounts without reasons

    They definitely will have a reason.

    • djsweet on 03/04/2024 - 16:18
      -3

      might not be a good one though

      • jv on 03/04/2024 - 16:23
        +6

        It's still a reason… So the title is misleading.

        • coxjon on 03/04/2024 - 17:26
          +3

          The title is reasons

          Maybe they only have one reason

          • jv on 03/04/2024 - 17:30
            +2

            @coxjon: 😲

            • altomic on 03/04/2024 - 18:17
              +3

              @jv: Maybe it's a typo and OP meant "without raisons" , like a fruit-free hot cross bun?

              • jv on 03/04/2024 - 18:21

                @altomic: You might be onto something.

                I remember getting an email from them recently about switching to sultanas to reduce costs.

                • altomic on 03/04/2024 - 18:25
                  +1

                  @jv: Sounds grape.

                  • jv on 03/04/2024 - 18:29
                    +1

                    @altomic: I'm not wineing though…

                    • altomic on 03/04/2024 - 22:03
                      +7

                      @jv: Which (profanity) is downvoting this intellectual battle of wits??

    • ozboygsl on 04/04/2024 - 09:01

      not really. the reason can be something like we don't like where you decide where you want to spend YOUR money. it's a reason, but not a moral or justifiable one.

  • BuzzBuzzBuzz on 03/04/2024 - 16:41
    +11

    Sounds like you did something (however inadvertently) that triggered a KYC check and a screening from their fraud department, which ultimately you did not pass.

    Do you trade crypto by chance?

  • Dollar General on 03/04/2024 - 17:03
    +1

    You must have breached their terms & conditions so they are closing your account to minimise their risks

    • AngusD on 04/04/2024 - 08:45

      That would seem to be the case. The strange thing for me is that they haven't just told the OP that? Like "we're closing your account because of X, Y and/or Z". Or maybe they did and that info was omitted from the post. Bank is within their rights to close the account if some breach of T&C's has occurred, but at a bare minimum you'd think they at least owe an explanation of exactly which T&C's were breached.

      • Dollar General on 04/04/2024 - 08:48
        +4

        If it relates to AML/CTF the bank will not tell you as it considered a tip off. They will pass the info onto AUSTRAC and be done with you

        • AngusD on 04/04/2024 - 09:37

          Ah well, I guess he'll figure it out based on what he gets charged with :D

    • windCheater on 08/04/2024 - 19:02

      What's that? Just based on hypothesis?

      Why can't it be communicated with customers, if it's customer's fault, or even risk of customer's wrong conducts?

      • Dollar General on 08/04/2024 - 19:40

        Nah up until recently I worked for a large multinational bank. Part of our yearly AML/CTF training was about ensuring we didn’t tip off the customer

      • Jetkuma on 09/04/2024 - 13:50

        It cannot be communicated because it is a law to not tip you off. Please have a read here: Tipping Off

        Obviously, if you hate this then go complain to AUSTRAC. Most businesses don't want to mess around with AML/CTF since there have been cases where fines go up to 1 billion (WBC).

  • Fysh on 03/04/2024 - 17:20

    How's your international transfers. Any risk countries?

  • GordonD on 03/04/2024 - 18:00
    +10

    People loudly demand through the media that banks take responsibility for scams using the banking system, and compensate anyone who is defrauded by them. And this is the inevitable and predictable result. That the banks watch carefully for any signs that an account is being used by scammers, or mules acting for them, and immediately close the account.

    When there is uncertainty, becoming more vigilant to try to detect false negatives - failing to see it when its there - increases the likelihood that you'll see more false positives - thinking you seeing it when its actually not there.

    • Make it so on 03/04/2024 - 18:32

      This.
      Was at Westpac this morning, where they had an ad showing off their 500-strong fraud detection team (!). That's a lot of people!
      Sign of the times unfortunately. Whenever I see people complain that the bank should pay them back for the money they foolishly sent to a scammer, I always wonder whether people realise it just ends up being all other customers who end up paying for that. UBank pays high interest - the only way they can do that is by cutting their losses, and the OP is unfortunately at the receiving end of it.

      • plmko on 03/04/2024 - 18:45

        And?

        Move on. I always find it weird that people are so loyal to banks for no reason. Just find another bank which pays out more.

      • DingoBilly on 03/04/2024 - 19:05
        +1

        It's a hard call on what can be done.

        It's not fair to just blame customers for not being smart enough. With the right kind of targeting and time any of us could be scammed (see people who send money to the wrong person when buying a house as the real estate agent is hacked).

        But it shouldn't also be completely on the banks to know when a scam is happening and how to stop it. You can put measures in place to stop it but ultimately if I want to withdraw $100,000 all at once it's my money and I should be able to.

    • DingoBilly on 03/04/2024 - 19:05
      +15

      Bitcoin causes a lot of this lol.

      • Make it so on 03/04/2024 - 19:55
        +4

        To be completely honest, most of the scams don't involve actual cryptocurrencies. It's cryptocurrency being used as a bait for people who want to make an easy profit from the hype. At all times, there is some hyped investment around which is used to trick people. Used to be real-estate, where they'd fly you to somewhere in Australia to attend a high-pressure workshop and drive you around to buy properties at inflated prices.

  • apokalypsez on 03/04/2024 - 20:45
    +1

    they lock my account for some reason and then got told to verification, so i did and then they saying unable to do it so closed my accounts…login few time get different message and doing something else get random error message.

    i don't mind whole security thing but i having issue of using the apps…not specific errors keep saying things like not connect internet, try again later…called them up and they got no idea, asked them why closed my account and got told to google and read policy online.

  • CyberMurning on 03/04/2024 - 21:22
    +3

    People with their account locked or closed please let us know any unusual things you have done so we can tell whose fault.
    Like multiple frequent transfers, sending to overseas, anything excessive, too many logins, etc etc. not just "I don't do anything" that's doesn't make sense.

    • Massive Flog on 11/04/2024 - 15:38

      @CyberMurning

      I've just received an email from Ubank myself:

      "We need you to confirm your details

      Hi Massive,

      It's a legal requirement for every Australian bank to keep accurate information about their customers. It also helps us keep your accounts safe and protected from fraud.

      So, we’re reaching out to confirm whether the information we have on file for you is still correct and current.
      What you need to do
      You’ll receive a separate email from us in the coming days with a link to complete your identity check. (Note: this email will come from our official automated email system, so the sender’s name will be “Ubank”, and sender’s email address will be "[email protected]"). The link will be available for 10 days after the email is sent.

      Handy tips:

      1.
      Open your ubank app and check your residential address is current and correct
      2.
      Open the email on your mobile
      3.
      You’ll need one of the following documents (that contain your photo) handy:
      Current Australian driver licence
      Current Australian passport
      Current Photo Identification card
      International passport (must include English translation)

      If you don’t complete your identity check
      We’ll send you some more reminders about what this means for your account(s). Please note that failure to complete an identity check can result in accounts being blocked for security reasons.

      We’re here to help
      If you have any other questions please call us on 13 30 80 Monday - Friday, 8am - 8pm and Saturday & Sunday, 8am - 6pm (Sydney time). Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected].

      Speak soon,
      Team ubank"

      In answer to your question, the only "suspicious" thing I do is transfer money to my Ubank account from various other bank accounts I have (all Australian accounts).

      About a month ago, I received a notification in the Ubank app that I had to fill in a questionnaire relating to how I use my account with them. It said if I failed to complete it, my account may be blocked, etc.

      I did it, and today, after sending money to my Ubank account from another bank, I received the email above shortly afterwards. I'm assuming it's an automated process; people get flagged for "suspicious" activity.

      There's no way in hell I'm sending photo ID via email. I'll just close the account and move on. Ever since the merger, Ubank is becoming a massive PITA to use.

      • JIMB0 on 12/04/2024 - 09:15

        I had this happen with ING. It was a stuff around getting the documents certified at the post office. Then a year later they closed my account anyway.

      • cumova on 21/04/2024 - 15:52

        i received this exactly. wondering why they want to do a check with equifax…
        I rang them to ask a few questions just then. seems like they are going through equifax (they have an id checker service maybe) to make sure current details are correct. I informed them that if they want my current details they should just ask and I can provide current ID as I have not done any credit checks with equifax for over 6 years, they would have wrong information anyways and that is not the process to do ID checks with banks (i recently went through this whole update ID thing with ANZ and it was a simple process over the phone, confirm my details + work in the banking industry). told them AML and KYC should not trigger a credit check? is a simple transaction account…
        Not sure what they are getting at. would be really disappointing if they end up closing account. Been with them since nearly day 1 + opening 86400 account from pretty much day 1.
        Supposedly someone else is going to contact me regarding this and sounds like they might be able to explain over the phone with more details. curious what they will say.

      • srand on 23/04/2024 - 22:35

        There's no way in hell I'm sending photo ID via email. I'll just close the account and move on.

        Just FYI you don't provide it via email, the email they send/sent has a link to a thing on their website (accessible via mobile device only) where you submit a photo of ID and then take a selfie. I had to dig the email out of spam and then the site didn't work on my phone so yeah, maybe closing the account is easier.

    • Ave Maria on 08/09/2024 - 14:15

      You are correct - it does not make sense (what UBANK is doing). The worst part is they are refusing to tell customers the reason (for their mistake) and simply lock customers out of their accounts or even worse send them an off-boarding email (with immediate lock out).

      Yes "I did nothing wrong" is accurate. In my case I believe the reason of "off-boarding" me was that other than using the app to sign up with them again 2 months ago, I only banked online. They do not like that and they seem to think that is reason enough to off-board customers (as they want everyone to use the smart app only). There was no requests to dentify myself again as I only re-joined recently and had been a previous loyal customer since 2010 (both personal and SMSF). Loyalty means nothing to this bunch. Customer Service is also an alien concept.

      My partner and I share about 16 bank acounts between the 2 of us (going back 30 years +). This the first time we have been off-boarded (and yes for no reason at all).

      • CyberMurning on 08/09/2024 - 14:31

        Banks dont tell people why thry do things. Its standard. Probably legal and totally lawful. For example when they rejects credit card applications.

  • Sinnerator on 04/04/2024 - 09:42
    +3

    "[email protected]"

    gotta love it when all security practices dictate that you never follow random emails requesting ID or money etc

    • denserham on 04/04/2024 - 10:46
      +1

      Virgin locked my account and wanted to EMAIL them my id and a selfie of me holding my id a few days after the Optus hack, I told them there are more secure ways to go about this as I just got a .au domain and uploaded documents to a secure https website. And that they are a bank and as an online only bank maybe they should have a better process than send us a clear text email with everything you need to steal my identity or eat shit. never got the account unlocked.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 04/04/2024 - 11:05

    The answer to OP's question is the details they have withheld. Obviously they have been transferring funds from crypto or risk countries.

  • JIMB0 on 04/04/2024 - 12:35

    Maybe you're better off keeping your cash under the mattress. At least you won't lose it when police freeze your account.

  • Daniel Plainview on 12/04/2024 - 08:23

    Is curious that Ubank is doing this whole ID thing on existing accounts - as when the account was originally opened you had to provide the points of ID check back then - so proving your identity has ALREADY been done.

    Wonder why they need it done yet again? Did they not record the proper information? Not that its the end of the world - but seems odd that you prove who you are and then they make you do again for no real change of circumstances.

    And I say this as someone who has Ubank accounts myself & got the emails stating the process they're doing.

    • Massive Flog on 12/04/2024 - 09:30

      I was thinking the same thing. I'm pretty sure I've had my Ubank account since around 2010. Maybe the suspicion is that the original account holder no longer has control of the account, and a Nigerian prince is now using it to facilitate fraud?

      • Daniel Plainview on 12/04/2024 - 14:32

        I'm back with UB even before that - seems odd, as I cannot imagine every bank in Australia is doing this due to the 'new rule changes'? So I have to assume Ubank stuffed up and didn't keep proper details or proof of identity for their customers.

        That your account has been hacked/stolen isn't something you'd get your entire customer base to have to rejustify who they are. A tad odd.

        I'd be curious to hear what UB would say if one put to them what happened to the ID proof we had to do when the accounts were originally opened?

  • Ave Maria on 06/09/2024 - 22:18

    Was a Ubank customer since 2010. Let accounts close when they merged. Open new account mid July 2024 (less than 2 months ago) for savings and did minimal number of transactions. Last transactions was yesterday $2K from HSBC and then out to CBA. Thank God I left the account empty, as I received this email today and I could no longer logon onto my account.

    They are morons. They can stick their terms and conditions up their Ubass. Never opening another account with them ever again.

    Off-Boarding in 30 days

    Hi xxxxxxxxx,

    This email is to provide you with notice that ubank has made the decision to close your accounts in accordance with our General Terms.

    Accounts will be closed within 30 days.

    Thanks
    Team Ubank

    • Loopholio on 06/09/2024 - 22:22

      If you find out why they are doing this please let us know. I have all my money with them..

      • Ave Maria on 07/09/2024 - 02:38

        The only reason I can think of, is that other than using their smart app to sign up, I have been doing my banking the old fashion way - via online banking. It is one thing to want to promote usage of a smart app and another to start closing accounts if you don't. If that is the case, it is beyond wrong and should not be allowed - not the way they are enforcing it anyway. Did I mention I received no warning - they obviously have my email !

    • bluesky on 06/09/2024 - 23:02

      Thank God I left the account empty, as I received this email today and I could no longer logon onto my account.

      Do you mean you have $0 balance in it? With other banks, you have to have $0 balance for a while (like months at least) before some banks decide to close it. When I wanted an account closed, but too lazy to do so, sometimes I would leave it at $0 and much later, they would come around to close it. But since you have just used it yesterday, it is a pretty harsh step for them to take, if the justification is that you have no balance in it. Could be some other justification, of course.

      • Ave Maria on 07/09/2024 - 02:18

        Zero balance and that ís no excuse to close accounts. I receive my salary into a CBA account and then move it out for like 10 years now. I put money back to pay credit card bills. Ubank has no excuse. I opened the account and I moved no more than a few hundrend dollars around each month. I only moved in and out $2K yesterday. A lot of savers do that, and that is not grounds to close a 2 month old account down so abrubtly. They need to stop wasting money on whatever team they are paying to do that. It is wrong and the worst part is you cannot fight them or ask why they did it as they would say it is in our terms and conditions we can do whatever we like. This need to change. Australia is so backwards in that respect. I had accounts with AMP that they closed after 6 months of no activity and I have no issue with that - I still could connect online and open new accounts no problem. What UBANK has done to a lot of other savers is to send them this stupid "off boarding" email without any warning, locking them out of accessing their accounts and money immediately and then after 30 days if you are lucky they will release your money. This is the only bank that is repeatedly reported to do this. So I strongly advise to stop banking with them and ignore their high rate for the first $100K, go with ME Bank, ING Bank, AMP, Rabobank instead. They never treated me like Ubank has. Ubank needs to be named and shamed as otherwise they will never change their ways.

    • Loopholio on 09/09/2024 - 11:52

      Ubank got back to me. I am somewhat reassured because I have a bunch of money with them and my account is active. The point about running a business and not being able to identify the source of my money is a bit worrying, but I should be fine because my finances are incredibly boring.

      Hi XXXX,

      Thanks for sending this through. We understand you have some concerns regarding account closures.

      Please refer to our General Terms; 'When we can close your account' for reasoning and an explanation as to why ubank can made the decision to close a customer's account: https://cms.ubank.com.au/wp-content/uploads/general-terms.pd…

      Under Section 143 of the Banking Code of Practice, Ubank may close an account by giving the account holder reasonable notice and returning the credit balance to the account holder.

      We can close any of your accounts if:

      We’re not able to verify your identity or the source of your money

      We need to prevent an anticipated breach of the law of Australia or another country, or to meet the requirements of regulatory authorities

      We need to protect you or us or any other person from potentially fraudulent activity or a scam or any other losses (but it may not be possible for us to detect and prevent all such transactions)

      You’re no longer eligible to bank with us

      We’re required to do so by law or to comply with a direction or instruction of an authority 24 of 67

      Your balance is less than $1, and you haven’t used it for at least the last 3 months

      We reasonably determine that you have used your account for business purposes

      We reasonably believe that keeping your account open (or processing certain transactions) would cause an unacceptable level of risk for you or us

      The way you use your account impacts our legitimate business interests

      Your account becomes overdrawn and you don’t pay us back promptly

      We consider it reasonably necessary to do so to manage a risk, including sanctions risk.

      Please note that ubank would not close accounts 'for no reason'. Should we deem the action necessary by using the framework above, it will be actioned accordingly and with notice.

      If you have any further questions, you can find answers to our most frequently asked questions at ubank.com.au/help.

      • Ave Maria on 09/09/2024 - 23:34

        Basically "any reason at all" and we do not actually have to tell you why -:)

  • Ave Maria on 08/09/2024 - 14:05

    Until recently had the Rabobank app installed on different smart phones and used different hard token devices for online logons. To my pleasant surprise, their passkey implementation only requires one smart-phone supporting a separate switchable profile within the app, and generates passkey codes rather than uses SMS text. A completely different experience from UBANK that is advertising their passkey implementation on their latest FaceBook site post. Based on my resent off-boarding (likely because I only used online servces) I had to post the below (accurate and to the point)

    Your PASSKEY implenentation sucks like everything else you did and changed since and including the merger (new account numbers, Direct Debit flip-flop, no swap etc. etc.).
    I just implemented the passkey in the new RABOBANK app, moving 4 different customer accounts (personal and SMSF for me and my partner) by creating 4 profiles into a single APP - just one smart-phone required and no use of SMS text coded, just generate a code like MS Authenticator does. What did UBANK do - forced the use of a smart-phone/app/passkey in the most akward of ways (need one smart phone for each account) and gradualy off-boarding loyal unsuspecting clients that continued to use online services only (because that is convinient or only option to them - but obviously you do not care about that). No warning - no email no nothing - just a rude awakening that you are locked out of your accounts. UBANK your have been behaving like the MAFIA - this is not the way to run a bank (executing your clients one by one).

    • bluesky on 08/09/2024 - 21:54

      Oh good! Thanks for sharing your experience with the new Rabo app. I have been delaying installing it, precisely as you said, not too happy with the UBANK version of passkey, and not sure how this is going to go. But seeing you have done it, and is positive about it, I think I will install it too.

      • Ave Maria on 08/09/2024 - 22:07
        +1

        You first need to logon to your online account / use it to set up a password so to switch to the secure code option. Then you use the new app to set a new profile using the same password initially and an SMS code to authenticate, then you just set a PIN code for the app. From that point on it is smooth sailing to logon onto the app or generate a secure code for the online logon. You still need to enter your accountnumber for the online logon (like before) + password but you should be able to manage that through a password manager + secure code. If anything this is even more secure access than before, and I do not mind that.

        Once you switch the DIGIPASS is deactivated and can no longer be used.

        Here is the instructions on how to setup multiple profiles

        https://www.rabobank.com.au/content/dam/ranz/au/pdf/how-to-g…

        and detailed help on how to do the switch

        https://www.rabobank.com.au/online-savings-secure-code#:~:te….

        • bluesky on 08/09/2024 - 22:20

          Thanks :-)

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