Clyde and Jocelyn rented out the second property and left some personal belongings there. However, in October 2025, the bank declined their restructure request and began the mortgagee sale process.

The property sold at auction on 3 December, and settlement occurred 14 days later on.  

The bank did not tell Clyde and Jocelyn the settlement date until the day afterwards. They complained that the bank’s failure to tell them the date meant they lost the chance to remove belongings they said were worth $127,000.

Our investigation

We found the bank should have told them the settlement date. There was no specific law requiring it to do so, but the Code of Banking Practice requires banks to treat customers fairly and communicate clearly and effectively. We considered the bank should have told Clyde and Jocelyn, as owners of the property until settlement, when their rights and obligations would end.

However, we considered the bank’s failure to notify them of settlement date did not cause them to lose their belongings. We found they knew by at least 8 December that settlement was close. The tenant told them the new owner had instructed her to stop paying rent to them and to transfer the bond. This should have alerted them that settlement was imminent and that they needed to find out the date as soon as possible.

Clyde and Jocelyn said they tried to contact the bank between 8 and 17 December but supplied no evidence of those calls. The information also showed Clyde spoke to the new owner on 15 December, and he had an opportunity then to ask when settlement would take place.

We also found that, after settlement, access to the property became contentious for reasons not caused by the bank. Once the sale settled, the bank no longer controlled access to the property. Access depended on the agreement of the tenant and new owner.

There was also a dispute about the removal of a pergola before settlement, which appears to have contributed to the new owner refusing access to them.

In short, the bank’s failure to tell Clyde and Jocelyn the settlement date did not result in their being unable to recover their belongings.

Outcome

We did not uphold Clyde and Jocelyn’s complaint. The bank had earlier made a goodwill offer of $1,000, which Clyde and Jocelyn did not accept.