More than 8,000 Commonwealth Bank customers will share in $7.6 million in refunds after the bank failed to deliver on a promise of lower fees and interest rates.
The bank discovered in 2014 it had not fully applied discounted interest rates, preferential savings rates and fee waivers in its award-winning AgriAdvantage Plus package over several years.
CBA reported the errors to the corporate watchdog at the time, and is now close to finalising refunds to 8,400 customers.
"Commonwealth Bank has been individually contacting affected customers to apologise, and is reimbursing outstanding amounts owed plus interest," the bank said.
The AgriAdvantage Plus package was launched in 2005, but is no longer offered to new customers and will close for existing customers from November 12.
Canstar awarded Commonwealth Bank its Agribusiness Award in June 2014, noting the "various fee and interest rate discounts across a range of lending and deposit products" within the bank's AgriAdvantage Plus package.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission welcomed CBA's cooperation in resolving the issue, and its commitment to paying out refunds.
ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell said it is important that financial services companies promptly rectify errors once they are identified.
"That includes restoring consumers to the position they should have been had the breach not occurred," he said.
News of the refund comes as CBA continues to work through thousands of customer complaints stemming from the financial advice scandal that stretched from 2003 to 2012.
The bank has so far paid out $52 million in compensation to customers who lost funds as a result of bad advice.
WHEN BIG BANKS GIVE MONEY BACK
Oct 2015 - CBA refunds $7.6m to customers who did not receive the full benefits of an agribusiness package
Jul 2015 - NAB pays out $25m to 62,000 wealth management customers who were short-changed because of problems with the way its system allocated income and tax
Jun 2015 - Macquarie Investment Management refunds $5.5m to 2,300 customers overcharged in fees for more than a decade due to a computer glitch
Apr 2015 - ANZ pays back $30m to 8,500 customers who paid for priority access to financial advisers, but did not get the annual reviews to which they were also entitled.
Aug 2013 - Bank of Queensland refunds $34.5m to 38,000 customers who were overcharged fees and underpaid interest over an eight year period, in part to due "overly complex products which required too many manual processes"
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