EXCLUSIVE My account was suspended by mistake by my bank... you wouldn't believe the infuriating lengths I had to take to unfreeze it
An ING customer has lashed out at her bank for taking days to unfreeze her account after it was mistakenly locked because of 'suspicious activity'.
Katie McMaster, 35, who has been a loyal customer of the digital bank for over ten years, received an email from ING's fraud department stating her account had been suspended last Tuesday.
The Melbourne resident was unable to access her money or use her card as a result.
She called the bank's customer service team to make sure the email was legitimate.
ING confirmed the correspondence, but told Ms McMaster she would have to wait until their fraud team contacted her to resolve the issue.
Ms McMaster told Daily Mail Australia the process was 'very scary' as she was told she had to send over personal information via email because ING's fraud team would not speak to her unless her identity had been verified.
The personal assistant was subsequently sent a verification text from the bank and told to upload her identification.
She then heard nothing from ING and was left unable to access her funds and did not receive a response until Thursday evening, when she was asked to confirm the 'suspicious transactions'.
The two flagged transactions included her monthly salary, which Ms McMaster said is paid into her account at the same time each month for the past three years, and a $300 transfer from a friend for an Usher ticket.
Ms McMaster said the process was particularly concerning because the only account she was able to use was her credit card which accrues interest.
After confirming the two transactions, she received a call from an ING employee who unblocked her accounts 'on the spot' and apologised for the delay, explaining she was the only one manning the fraud email inbox.
Ms McMaster raised an official complaint over the incident and received $100 in compensation, but insisted she was looking to move banks.
She revealed she had received further correspondence from ING following the complaint, but suspected this was due to a TikTok she made about her experience.
'ING has advised that my feedback has been shared with the relevant areas and that feedback is regularly reviewed by management to identify opportunities to improve their service,' she said.
'However, they did acknowledge that asking for my personal information over email is also their standard procedure which was concerning.
'I am hoping they will actually do a proper review as this is not a secure way to obtain sensitive customer information in my opinion.
'ING have only responded publicly by saying they were following their process so let's hope this has called for a review in their organisation.
'I think ING has heard me due to my TikTok so let's hope they have listened.'
Ms McMaster was met with hundreds of responses from other Australians who claimed to have experienced similar incidents with ING.
One wrote: 'I had a very similar experience with ING in 2020, I was a loyal customer for five years and suddenly they froze my savings account with no explanation besides 'suspicious activity'.
'I had no access to my funds (that I used to pay my rent and bills) after so many calls/emails and formal complaint processes that went nowhere with zero response, they finally released my funds in 2023 with interest and still no explanation - I'm obviously no longer a customer and will never go back.'
'I'd refuse to send personal details over email, that's ridiculous!! All our banks are absolutely useless nowadays - they do not care because they're making billions in profits,' another wrote.
'A great result, glad it got sorted! ING suck! They reeled me in with their interest rate. But the customer service has always been appalling,' a third added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Finextra
41 minutes ago
- Finextra
Shift4 agrees $180 million deal for Smartpay
Shift4 is continuing its acquisition spree, agreeing a US$180 million deal to take over Australian and NZ point-of-sale provider Smartpay. 0 Smartpay sells tailored payment technology through an extensive distribution network across Australia and New Zealand, supporting a diverse base of more than 40,000 merchants in the region. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Shift4, which recently abandoned plans to sell off its own business after being unimpressed by suitor bids for the publicly-listed company, which has a market valuation of $7 billion. In February, Shift4 agreed to buy Global Blue, a payments and technology provider to luxury brands, for $2.5 billion. This followed the August acquisition of Canadian gift card company Givex for C$200. Speaking on the deal to takeover Smartpay, Shift4 CEO Taylor Lauber, says: 'This acquisition follows the Shift4 playbook to a tee. It deepens our strategic presence in Australia and New Zealand, providing a significant opportunity to offer our full suite of software and payments solutions in the region. "By combining our payment infrastructure with Smartpay's distribution capabilities, we're well positioned to go-to-market at scale in the region with our leading products and services such as SkyTab POS for restaurants, SkyTab Venue for stadiums and arenas, and our end-to-end payment solution for hotels and unified commerce merchants.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Proof that high overseas immigration DOESN'T make your city richer
High immigration levels are failing to make Australians richer - at least judging by the cities foreigners are moving to in droves. A 2023 study by the Centre for Population partnered with the OECD found that Australian-born workers benefitted from boosted labour productivity, wages and employment rates in regions that had high migration. According to the report, on average a region with 10 per cent larger migrant share had a 1.3 per cent larger regional wage difference, while a 1 per cent rise in annual migrant inflow, lead to a 0.53 per cent increase in employment for all genders and ages. Sydney and Melbourne last year accommodated 61 per cent of the 340,800 new migrants who relocated to Australia. But instead of boosting prosperity in Australia's two biggest cities, rapid population growth from those who have relocated from overseas appears to only be causing a big exodus to other states - limiting economic activity. Victoria last year housed 100,503 new overseas migrants or 29.4 per cent of the new permanent and long-term arrivals into Australia. Australia's most populous state, covering Melbourne, is home to 26 per cent of the nation's 27.4million people but only comprises 22 per cent of the national gross domestic product. Commonwealth Bank associate economist Lucinda Jerogin noted Victoria's economic growth pace has lagged as 3,203 residents left for another part of Australia last year. She said in Victoria, the 'net number of interstate migration' or the amount of people moving from within Australia to the state, 'has been around zero for the last few quarters'. 'This is well below the pre-Covid trend where Victoria was a popular destination for internal migrants.' 'Victoria's economy is also weak. The unemployment rate is the highest of any state or territory,' she said. Victoria's unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent is well above the national average of 4.1 per cent. The state's continuing exodus to other states and a weak economy also kept a lid on house prices with values falling by one per cent in the year to May. They continued soaring in Brisbane and Perth - two cities receiving a big influx of interstate migration. NSW is home to 31 per cent of Australia's population but makes up 30 per cent of national GDP. Last year it received 106,730 foreign migrants, and 28,113 people left for another part of Australia. 'Growth in the country's largest state economy is sluggish,' Ms Jerogin said. By contrast, WA has Australia's strongest population growth pace of 2.4 per cent, based on attracting 12,612 new interstate migrants last year on top of the 45,124 overseas migrants moving in. The mining-rich state makes up 11 per cent of Australia's population but makes up 17 per cent of the national economy, thanks to lucrative revenue streams from exporting iron ore to China. WA is also resilient to Donald Trump's tariffs, with exports of gold to the United States soaring by 31.6 per cent during the first three months of 2025. 'WA exports have fallen off its peak, however, US destined exports have skyrocketed,' Ms Jerogin said. Queensland houses 20.5 per cent of Australia's population and makes up 20 per cent of the national economy. But some provincial states are contributing less to the economy. SA makes up 7 per cent of Australia's population but only 5 per cent of GDP. It also saw 1,582 residents leave for another part of Australia. 'The smaller states and territories are all also seeing negative interstate migration, a return to more normal trends that were present pre-Covid,' Ms Jerogin said.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Airlines are changing plans as conflict escalates in the Middle East. How will it affect Australian passengers?
Passengers are facing delays, scheduling changes and even cancellations as airlines recalibrate their plans to avoid a large chunk of Middle Eastern airspace. Since Israel launched missiles at Iran on 13 June, airlines have been taking alternative routes in order to stay away from parts of the region including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel and parts of Jordan. The conflict is escalating as many Australians prepare for trips to Europe during the northern hemisphere summer. If you're one of them, how will the airline disruptions affect you? It all depends on the airline you plan to fly with, and which route your flight is taking from Australia to Europe. Aviation expert Prof Rico Merkert says airlines that stop over in the Middle East, such as Qatar, Emirates and Etihad, are likely to be affected. 'For sure there will be quite a bit of delays and possibly the odd cancellation,' Merkert, deputy director of the University of Sydney's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, says. 'Getting to the Middle East is probably still OK but once you get there it might be a bit hectic … with the potential for detours and delays. 'And, obviously, flying to Iran at the moment is not possible.' For example, Emirates typically flies from its home airport in Dubai into continental Europe using Iranian airspace, Merkert says, 'so they'll need to detour'. 'It's not just Iranian airspace, it's also Iraq, Syria and part of Jordan as well,' he says. 'Essentially, everything that's between Israel and Iran, because they do keep sending missiles to each other.' Emirates was contacted for comment, but did not respond by deadline. Qantas, which operates flights to London direct from Perth or via Singapore from Australia's east coast, has indicated it is monitoring the situation and says it will alter its flight paths if necessary but has not made changes yet. As Merkert points out in one example, a passenger on the daily QF1 flight from Sydney to London via Singapore would avoid Middle Eastern airspace, as those flights go over central Asia. However, the national carrier only flies from Australia to London. If you book with Qantas and want to go elsewhere in Europe, you're likely to be flying with Emirates, its international partner. Virgin only recently launched international flights, after entering into a codesharing agreement with Qatar, similar to the one between Qantas and Emirates. Qatar is headquartered in Doha, not far from Emirates' base in Dubai. As well as a partial ownership stake for Qatar, the alliance includes a so-called wet lease deal, whereby the Gulf carrier provides planes and crew to the Australian airline to operate weekly services to Doha under the Virgin brand. Virgin on Monday indicated its wet-leased service to Doha remained unaffected but has not ruled out scheduling changes. On Monday, a Qatar Airways spokesperson said the 'evolving situation in the region' would 'require some schedule changes'. The airline did not elaborate on what those changes involved but advised passengers to check its website for the latest information. 'We are continuously monitoring and assessing the situation, and reacting in real-time to ensure we operate under the safest conditions possible at all times,' the spokesperson said. 'We have some of the best people in the business working behind the scenes to keep our network strong and secure, and to ensure we remain the airline you can trust and rely on.' Etihad, another Gulf carrier, has suspended all flights between its base in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv until 15 July. 'This remains a highly dynamic situation, and further changes or disruption, including sudden airspace closures or operational impact, may occur at short notice,' a spokesperson said on Monday. 'Etihad continues to monitor developments closely in coordination with the relevant authorities and is taking all necessary precautions.' Merkert says he expects Turkish Airlines flights to face similar problems, as the carrier typically uses Iranian airspace. The airline, which flies from Sydney to Istanbul and then onwards into Europe – with a stopover in Malaysia – has plans to further expand into the Australian market. The carrier did not respond before deadline to a request for comment. Guardian Australia contacted more than a dozen airlines on Monday asking them what their plans were. Singapore Airlines had cancelled eight flights between Dubai and Singapore, 'following a security assessment of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East'. Thai Airways, which flies from Australia to Europe via Bangkok, said its services were not affected by the conflict. British Airways indicated its flights to Australia were operating as scheduled. While airlines have assured passengers they are making plans to avoid Iranian airspace and other danger zones, Merkert says there are options for people who would prefer not to fly over the Middle East at the moment, pointing to airlines that fly to Europe via Asia without stopping over in a Gulf country. 'My daughter is currently en route to Europe,' he says. 'But she flew with Singapore Airlines and so she flew via Singapore and from there to Frankfurt. That's a route that takes you about an hour north of Iran.' Merkert says another option could be flying to Europe via Japan. 'The problem at the moment though is the Ukrainian airspace is blocked too,' he says. 'It's probably safer, but it also takes additional time.'
