Rabobank told Bruce Gordon he had 20 days to move his transactions elsewhere. Photo / Supplied
Rabobank told Bruce Gordon he had 20 days to move his transactions elsewhere. Photo / Supplied
Rangitīkei farming contractor and regional councillor Bruce Gordon says he "couldn't believe" Rabobank wants to close his business accounts because he is no longer borrowing from it.
He received a letter from the bank last month, saying he had 20 days to move his transactions elsewhere, because the Netherlands-owned bankwas reviewing its policy.
"We have determined that we will be offering transactional banking services primarily to customers who have lending with us," the letter said.
Gordon has lending with Rabobank's subsidiary, DLL Group. Rabobank has been his bank for more than 25 years.
He has several accounts with it, including direct debits and automatic payments. It will take him "days and days" to move all his banking business to another bank, he said.
After his first phone call, the bank said it would not close his accounts. But they were closed later in the month, by mistake, causing him to miss a mortgage payment.
Bruce Gordon has been using Rabobank in both his contracting business and his personal life. Photo / supplied
A Rabobank spokesman said he understood the change may be disappointing for some customers and the bank would continue to work with impacted customers to help them transition to a bank offering suitable retail products.
"We communicated this change to impacted customers in early June and are currently working with a number of these customers to assist with their transition to another bank. We're taking a flexible approach with regard to the timing of this transition and anticipate this will be completed over the coming months," his statement said.
Federated Farmers contacted Rabobank on Gordon's behalf, and was considering taking the matter further.
"We were aghast that a bank would say bye bye when you pay off your debt. That's pretty bad," Federated Farmers policy and advocacy general manager Gavin Forrest said.
Changing banks would take a lot of effort, he said, and it might affect the reputation of a business.
"Perhaps [Rabobank] should tell new customers before they start that that's their policy."
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden was unable to comment on individual cases. But she said banks need to have a good reason for closing customers' accounts - and that reason could be a commercial reason.
"A bank may decide to withdraw products and services for commercial reasons."
The bank should also give at least 14 days' notice before closing an account.
If a bank closes an account without good reason it may be liable to compensate the customer for direct loss or inconvenience.
Good reasons for closing an account can include a customer being abusive to staff, using their account inappropriately or failing to provide the information banks require as a result of anti money laundering legislation.
Gordon said he has done none of these things, and will now have to look for another bank.
