How Should I Go about Dealing with an Unauthorised Charge to Remitly?

jjsu on 18/05/2022 - 17:11
Last edited 19/05/2022 - 16:08 by 1 other user

Hi all,

Noticed today that my Commbank app was being weird, and not showing either my Smart Access or NetBank Savings accounts.

I was able to toggle them on within the apps settings, but found out that over $1800 was sent to Remitly Australia via Direct Debit. I don't remember clicking any shady emails, or giving out my account details to anyone non-trustworthy. The transaction barely shows anything of value to me - no name or time.

I've called Commbank over the phone, and they said that they would only be able to dispute the transaction at a branch. Is it quite likely that my funds will be returned? How can one prevent something like this in the future?

Many thanks in advance, jjsu.

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Remitly

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  Nutrino on 18/05/2022 - 17:17

  [Grabs.popcorn]

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  boomramada on 18/05/2022 - 17:26

  Time to visit a branch?

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    jjsu on 18/05/2022 - 17:38

    Yeah, I'm planning to do exactly that tomorrow. Commbank branches nearby closed at 4pm today.

    I guess I'm just anxious and wanting to hear what fellow OzB members might have to say from any of their past fraudulent experiences and how they panned out.

    • 

      boomramada on 18/05/2022 - 17:51

      Usually CBA good at putting the money back but there some exceptions, you will find out tomorrow. :)

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        jjsu on 18/05/2022 - 17:55

        Cheers, hopefully everything goes smoothly

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  Hithere on 18/05/2022 - 17:49

  If you are sure that you didn't authorise the transaction I wouldn't wait until tomorrow.

  Call ComBank's after hours number and put a temporary stop on your account, just in case more transactions you are unaware of occur.

  • 

    jjsu on 18/05/2022 - 17:54

    Good point. I'll go and do that now.

    Cheers Hithere :)

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  TurboTortoise on 18/05/2022 - 17:59

  Yes agree definitely chase them via the after hours number. Previously when I had unknown suspicious charges they took immediate action. I never needed to go to a branch.

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    BobD on 19/05/2022 - 07:37

    +1

    I had about $1000 of dodgy card deals go through on a Sunday. I got on the phone to the CBA at 11:00pm on that day and all fixed by the next day. New card delivered by Wednesday. Then the fun of changing the direct debits.

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  jjsu on 19/05/2022 - 16:16

  Update: Spoke in branch with a helpful man today, but nothing else could be done apart from blocking any form of Direct Debit with Remitly and disputing the transaction. I was told that this dispute/investigation could take up to 45 days. Fingers crossed its only a couple of days - $1.8k is a lot to lose!

  Commbank was helpful enough to show me that my account was accessed from multiple locations across Oz, but I still have no clue how that happened.

  I think my next step will be to contact Remitly directly and see what they can do. I don't have much to go off (no details of receiver), but it's worth a shot.

  Anyway, thanks for any tips the OzB community has given me, much appreciated.

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  jjsu on 20/05/2022 - 20:43

  Update 2: NetBank access is still locked (i.e. can't login to website/app) but I received a notification from the app that the full amount had been put back into my account!

  When I emailed Remitly yesterday, all they told me to do was wait for my bank to correspond with them. Glad to know that Commbank were pretty quick to act on this.

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  camjim on 21/05/2022 - 10:47

  Usually when sending money through a remittance company you need to quote a reference number which is recorded in the transaction details. This reference number is required to pair the payment to the transaction requesting the payment so they know who to forward the payment to. Are there any reference numbers listed in your statement? If not, how does/did remitly know what the payment was in reference to and who to send the payment to? If there are reference numbers then Remitly should know exactly who lodged the transaction and who the money was sent to. Sounds like Remitly is being a bit lazy..