Commonwealth Bank customers fear they won’t make rent after duplicate transactions wipe funds from accounts

Commonwealth Bank customers have found their account balances lower than they should be after the bank charged some transactions twice, with some worrying they will not be able to make rent.

The duplicates involve transactions from recent days and have resulted in some people having their bank accounts overdrawn.

After stating it was working to reverse these transactions “as a matter of urgency”, the Commonwealth Bank issued an update Saturday afternoon that the reversal process was underway and “customers are now seeing the duplicate transactions disappear”.

The bank said the process should be completed over the coming hours.

Earlier, the bank issued an “important message” on Saturday morning to customers, saying “we are aware some customers are seeing duplicate transactions from payments”.

It told customers it was “sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for being patient with us”.

However, for some the lack of funds was a matter of urgency. Some took to X, formerly Twitter, and described being unable to pay for essentials including medication, fuel, food and nappies.

One person on social media said they risked missing a flight because their account was overdrawn, leaving them without enough funds to get transportation to the airport.

For some, their weekend plans have had to change – as one person put it, “this has fucked up my Saturday. Thanks Commbank.”

When Sophie Edwards, a 19-year-old university student, saw her bank account was $230 overdrawn Saturday morning, she assumed she had been hacked. When she looked at her bank account, she saw she had been charged twice for every transaction she had made the previous week.

Edwards said it had been an “extremely stressful morning. I’m already under a lot of pressure with money – this is an added stress I can’t afford”.

Saturday is the only day she has to buy her groceries for the week, including food for her cats. But she said she was not able to afford the shop or the public transport costs to get there.

She hasn’t been able to get through to Commonwealth Bank on phone or web assist and is worried if the situation is not resolved soon she won’t be able to pay her $390 weekly rent.

Marcelo, who asked to be referred to by only his first name for privacy reasons, said he was at the pharmacy register trying to buy his wife’s prescription medication for her arthritis after she had woken up with intense knee pain, only to find out his card was $600 overdrawn.

The 42-year-old from Sydney found the duplicated transactions had wiped $3,000 between the couple. Marcelo said his only option was buying the medication with a buy now pay later business.

He said the duplicated transactions were “still happening”, with all his transactions on Friday charged again shortly after midday on Saturday.

“I’m definitely worried for the coming days,” Marcelo said, adding he was worried the bank will not pay the money back quickly.

He has been talking with his brother, whose family have also lost funds due to the error, trying to figure out what they’re going to do. “I don’t know how I’m going to pay rent on Monday.”

Marcelo said the situation has caused a lot of emotional distress within the family.

Commonwealth Bank said on X: “If anyone is finding themselves in financial difficulty, support such as a temporary overdraft may be available via calling us on 13 2221 or visiting us in a branch.”

While the bank said it was treating the issue urgently, customers were demanding to know when their money would be returned.

One customer said they had “hundreds” of duplicate transactions on social media.

Customers are also asking why it has taken the bank so long to notify them of these duplicate transactions.

Some on social media vowed to move banks after their funds are returned, while customers in overdraft have expressed concerns about how it will affect their credit rating.