Our investigation 

We found the bank was entitled to close Bridget’s accounts. Its requests for information about her transactions were reasonable, and it clearly explained what information it needed and what would happen if she did not provide the information.

We considered whether the bank followed a fair process in closing her accounts. The bank clearly communicated to Bridget about the closure of her transactional accounts. However, we found it did not clearly tell her in November 2025 that it would close her credit card account. It also did not clearly explain that the full balance would become due, when repayment was needed by, or how repayment could be arranged. Payment reminders sent to Bridget after her transactional accounts closed also referred only to overdue amounts. They did not explain that the bank would close the credit card account and demand the full balance.

The first time the bank clearly told Bridget about closing her credit card account was on 24 December 2025. Bridget called the same day and made a $2,000 payment. The bank demanded full repayment on the next business day. It then referred the debt to a collection agency two business days later, adding a fee of $2,782.

We found the bank failed to follow a fair process for closing Bridget’s credit card account. It did not give her a fair and reasonable opportunity to discuss repayment options, or a fair opportunity to repay the full balance. We considered she would probably have tried to arrange repayment or refinance the debt if she had been given clear notice earlier. We recommended the bank reimburse the collection referral fee, enter into a suitable repayment arrangement with Bridget, and pay $750 for stress and inconvenience.

Outcome

The bank agreed with the terms of our recommendation, and Bridget accepted this.