WA Fees for Wrongly Debited from Bank Account - Overdraft Fees?

[Brocko]

Just discovered I have been regularly Debited (total of 4 payments) from a local gym, but I never signed
up. I went to them and they worked out that one of their clients had provided them with the wrong bank details (mine!). After checking with the bank it turns out there was one digit wrong in the BSB and everything else matched mine! For some reason my bank approved the debit request.

The gym contacted their debit authority and got the transactions reversed nice and quick, just the usual delay with processing the money by the banks. The problem though and my question is, my bank account was overdrawn before these payments were taken out so I got charged overdrawn fees for each of the transactions. The bank has told me to get the money for the overdraw fees from the gym, and the gym has told me that the bank should be refunding me those fees.

Who should be giving me my money for the overdraft fees?

 

[Sophea]

Hi Brocko,

That is for the bank and the gym to fight out. Most banks will always refund unauthorised transactions when they are identified with no penalty to you. I would tell the bank that if they don't refund your fees quick smart you will be contacting the financial ombudsman to take up the issue with them. Also if the fees are exorbitant, you may be able to challenge the fees themselves on the basis that the amount of the fee for the overdrawing exceeds the actual cost to the bank.