BankWest - terrible home loan experience

So originally(2 years ago) when I applied for my home loan the process was long and drawn out. At first interview thing I took in all required documents as they had listed. over the next month and a half i went in 6 times to provide documents that they had previously said they didn't need or the back page of a document that they had only copied the front page. On and on it went. The final process to approve the loan, even after getting pre-approval, was long and drawn out. I had to extend settlement day 3 times. The mortgage insurance that they quoted me was only for a year rather than the life of the loan as I had been told.

Finally the loan came through albiet a bucket load of stress.

So at the start of January I decided to get a small extension on my home loan to do some small improvements also the 2 year introductory rate load period was ending. initially I was told I could easily borrow half of my initial loan amount again!! way more than I needed. I asked for just what I required, filled in the forms and was told 2 weeks to approve the change in loan with the small increase. After 3 weeks I rang to see what what was happening to be told that they had miscalculated my partners p/t income as weekly instead of fortnightly (which was bloddy obvious as payslips show fortnight whilst bank statements also reflect fortnightly pay). So the small amount was reduced slightly as they couldn't do that amount. So they asked for updated payslips from me which I provided.

After 3weeks I heard nothing and started ringing daily to talk to the loan guy.finally got on to him and he said he had been calling me for 2 weeks …..yeah right. he stated that the salary sacrifice shown on my payslips showed that i was sacrificing my car (which I had paid out 3 years ago). My salary sacrifice company uses the code "Car" for some unknown reason on my payslips. I got that changed and provided new payslips and copies of emails from the SS company to explain the code. anyway, that was fine. then following a discrepancy in my pay due to a payroll error Bankwest start questioning my salary.

I work for the QLD govt and have been in my current role for 2 years in a temporary roll. my permanent role is 2 levels below my current. this fact i never hid from Bankwest and had been in the lower position when i originally applied for the loan. So again further copies of payslps were required, which were provided and followed up with unreturned calls from the bankwest guy.

So yesterday I had a call from the Senior Loan Manager of bankwest saying that everything was good and that I was finally approved and she was putting the paperwork through and would I like to borrow a little more? No I was fine with what I needed.

Yah, I thought, finally, only 2 months to get a result.

then this morning the Senior Loan manager rings to say that she had made a mistake and forgotten to deduct one amount from another and that they could approve the new loan but no extension. and that she was sorry and only saw the mistake that morning.

what shits me is that they had all the numbers previously -from day 1 - and finally after 2 months of Mod: Foul Language about and stating that getting an extension would be no problem and then being told by a senior staff member that everything was great and then told less than 24 hours later that "oh sorry I made an error" - this doesn't cut it. it's not rocket science. the borrower has this much money coming in, they have these expenses, hhhhmm how much can they borrow. it's made extra simple as they have things called computers that do the math'N'shit.

My whole home loan experience with Bankwest has been total crap.

Would I recommend them? hell no!

I've dealt with 4 staff members at Bankwest regarding my initial and subsequent home loan and they have all stuffed me around, provided incorrect information, been innefficent,delayed things excessively, casued high levels of stress, failed to return calls, etc.

I'm now looking at a quasi-government building society for a home loan

anyway that's enough from me.

Bankwest - maybe they should be called Wankbest.

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Comments

  • No building societies up there in QLD?

    Sounds like a right pita… why are you persisting with them?

    If that quasi govt loan is like some i have seen people get tied up in then avoid it at all cost.

  • +1

    Cool story. Not so cool experience.

  • +1

    You should try going through a broker. They don't usually charges fees and will do all the leg work for you. I signed up with bankwest 3 years ago. They accidentally processed my application twice and valuation of my property came back with 2 very different amounts. My broker sorted it all out and dealt with the chasing up while keeping me informed.

    I have not paid a cent to my broker and he has managed to waive a number of fees that I would normally pay if I signed up direct. He also gives me a credit usually equally one repayment for each of my investments that I have going through him as gratitude for going back to him.

    Make sure you click with your broker though. I went to see many brokers before finding mine.

    • it sounds like you have a great broker.
      the ones i go to can't get any fee wavied but i can if i go straight to the bank

      also they make everythings sound foolproof until they came back and say the bank said no.
      you still need to get whatever paper work the bank asks and fill out the forms, the only thing they do
      is call the bank to see how things are going.

      So this time around I'm either using a broker who offer a commission refund, or a referral broker thing where i get a refund but I talk to the bank directly!

  • spineiro, I'm looking for a good broker - any chance you could message me details please?

    • The trouble is, even though brokers say they "have access to dozens/hundreds of lenders", they only really deal with a few/several. You can do most of the same thing yourself by using a website like www.infochoice.com.au

      www.bidmyloan.com.au is another I looked at briefly. You fill in details and lenders contact you with offers. I'm sure there's others.

    • His name is Tony Mauceri. He is based in Hurstville area of Sydney though and not anywhere near Bundaberg.

      http://www.mortgageavenue.com.au/why_searchResults_overview.…

      I always recommend to get to know your broker.

      • thanks. :)

  • Gee, I would have taken the year of mortgage insurance quietly, instead of paying it for the life of the loan. Especially since it doesn't protect the borrower at all. If I default, the insurance company pays my bank - then the insurance company wrings that money back out of me anyway. (For those that don't know, putting up a 20% deposit of your own means you don't have to pay mortgage insurance.)

    As for banks/loans… I think they're all useless and it depends which way the wind is blowing that day…

    We:

    • Had saved a huge $200,000 deposit.
    • Were first home buyers (so add another $14,000 to the deposit at the time).
    • Had $550/wk spare after ALL expenses paid.
    • Had a spreadsheet proving that fact, showing every cent in & out for the last six YEARS.
    1. The ANZ wouldn't give us a loan.
    2. The Greater Building Society said the same.
    3. The Newcastle Permanent Building Society didn't seem to know WHAT they could offer, so we gave up.
    4. Westpac said they'd give us a $14,000 loan. (No, that's not a typo.)
    5. So we went to a mortgage broker (whatever company it was that joined with Aussie a couple of years ago)…

    They mucked us around for MONTHS. Telling us they could definitely get us a loan with X. Then they wouldn't bother ringing back. So we'd have to phone, or go in, in person, only to get a new excuse. They kept changing X to a different lender they were "talking to on our behalf." The last one they tried was Homeside (NAB), which they "virtually guaranteed" would give us a loan. In the end they said they couldn't help us AT ALL!

    So we walked across the street to CBA. They also took weeks (when they say they can do it by the next day), but at least they offered us a loan of $230,000.

    So from $0 to $230,000!

    Like I said, it must depend on what direction the wind is blowing that day.

    • Gee, I would have taken the year of mortgage insurance quietly, instead of paying it for the life of the loan. Especially since it doesn't protect the borrower at all.

      But because the bank is in theory taking a higher risk in lending you greater than 80 per cent, as you say, it's insuring them against that (perceived) higher risk.

      It's really irrelevant to the borrower though, how long the mortgage insurance is good for, unless the bank is planning to tack it on top of your loan every year that the balance remains above the 80 per cent LVR.

    • when i was working in the home loan industry, from your gross income normally the bank can take 30-40% of your income to calculate how much you can service your loan. the bank also required 6 months - 1 year full time employment, 2 years part time / contract role.
      with cba, normally they will do stressed test to the customer income, example if current loan 6%, then they normally calculate the stresses test income for interest rate 7.5-8%, in case if the interest rate going up that much, thats why cba got lower loan arrears among other big banks.
      and rule of thumb every 100k loan, the loan payment around $700-800/month.
      in your example, i don't know what is your gross income, but reading your nett income around 2200/month, and if you have kid, then the bank might see that their is a risk for the customer fall into arrears.
      but, if you can convince your lender, he/she might able to argue on behalf of you with their credit department to get your loan approve.

      • the bank also required 6 months - 1 year full time employment,
        2 years part time / contract role.

        They do offer to people on Centrelink benefits too. It's law they not discriminate - although most of them still manage to find a way to weasel out of it.

        • we do take account centrelink benefit payment, but the income won't be asses as high as if you have regular income. i got one young single mother that live in the sydney western suburb with centrelink payment $2000+/fornight as she got 5 kids. and she wanna have $400k loan. what a joke.

        • Yeah (joannatan) - the Commonwealth (seems to be) the only one to seriously consider Centrelink payments.

          I can't believe though, how many people leave it to the LENDER to tell THEM if they can afford a loan or not. And by that I mean…

          Single mum: "Hey Bank Manager, can I have a home loan?"
          Bank Manager: "Based on your income we'll lend you $250,000."
          SM to friend: "My Bank told me I can afford a $250,000 loan over 25 years."

          (No dumbo - it doesn't mean you CAN afford it. Aren't you going to CHECK for yourself first!?)

          SM to friend (3 months later): "I'm paying $390 a week! Didn't that stupid bank know I can't afford to pay that!?"

        • I can't believe though, how many people leave it to the LENDER to tell THEM if they can afford a loan or not. And by that I mean…

          I know what you mean, and I think this is probably where a lot of people get into difficulty. We were told we could borrow nearly 700k yet we know full well we couldn't come close to keeping up with anything like that - not if we actually wanted to eat while we were doing it.

  • I am on Sth Coast NSW and I have had excellent service from our local Community Bendigo Bank
    Nice people and they ring me if I forget a payment, get overdrawn or there is a problem
    had a call on the spot when they caught some bastard doing the dodgy on my credit cards
    Their interest rates and fees are pretty good - there may be cheaper around but I am happy with the combination of price and service
    Plus a percentage of their profit is donated back to local groups and stuff - a couple I am involved in
    If you have a local Community Bank I highly recommend you try their service

  • +3

    LOL. Wankbest..

  • I've gone to one of those free financial checkup thing in exchange for free magazines deal. That was a couple of months ago but I still haven't received my magazine of choice! Oh well, they've lost a customer and this further confirmed that they're indeed one dodgy bank.

  • I recommend using a broker. They get paid by the bank and act as a filter between you and the bank, checking documentation and doing any chasing up that needs to be done. My broker here in SA has been great. The bank I have the mortgage with, not such much (CBA). The bank made errors in setting up the loan and processing payments (they can't read invoices it seems), but the broker was fantastic in chasing down the problems and helping solve them.

  • 19/4/2012 UPDATE-

    So I received a letter today from BankWest stating that my old homeloan has expired and that it has been rolled over to a new regular home loan account from 6.38% to 7.18%.

    So my previous belief, based on statements made by the senior loans manager, that I was being placed into a new equal rate homeloan was further crapola from Bankwest.

    • Hm… Nice of them. Their site shows a comparison rate of 6.29% and even their "Premium" home loan is 6.76% - so what gives!?

      Anyway - switch banks - then if you really want to be with Bankwest, switch back again. You'll probably make up the couple of thou$and lost in a few months by getting the lower rate. Or just walk away for good. (UBank is 6.23% I believe.)

      http://www.whistleout.com.au/HomeLoans
      or
      http://www.infochoice.com.au

    • Bankwest does have an online only rate at 6.29% with a few limitations or a 6.45% rate on their premium select loan which is pretty sharp for a fully featured loan. That said given the experiences you've had I'm not too sure why you are putting up with them ongoing.

      As a very rough guide, you can generally afford mortgage lending of 5 times your annual income (some banks will lend you more but this is the ballpark I like to work with to ensure you aren't over committed if times get tough). I've got lenders on my panel offering sub 6% fixed rates at the moment and also some offering to pay up to $700 to cover your refinance costs if you refinance a minimum of $250k+.

      If you are in the ballpark income wise and would like to have a look at your borrowing options, I'd be happy to assist you so feel free to send me a message on here, but I am based in Sydney so everything would have to be done via phone/skype/email. Alternatively find yourself a local broker via the MFAA website: http://www.mfaa.com.au/searchForMember.asp?menuid=304. Either way it shouldn't be too hard to get yourself a better deal & service.

  • Below 6%! Oh wait, that's a fixed rate loan… so it has restrictions like you can't pay more than the minimum amount each month (which means your principle stays higher and so you pay more in interest than a standard variable loan); it reverts to higher interest rate after one/two/three years… that kind of thing.

    If there's a way to screw back the $ out of you that you seem to saving, trust a home loan provider to find it. [sigh]

    • True there are restrictions so fixed rates aren't for everyone but you could always do a 50/50 fixed/variable split to avoid the bulk of the restrictions and still have access to some great rates.

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