An outraged Westpac customer claims the bank froze his accounts and blocked a transaction when he tried to use his savings to invest in cryptocurrency.

Radio host Ben Fordham spoke with ‘Tim’ on 2GB’s Breakfast Show on Wednesday morning. 

Tim told Fordham he had deposited $80,000 into Westpac as he wanted to use the money to buy Bitcoin. 

He thought he had transferred $50,000 to CoinSpot – Australia’s cryptocurrency exchange platform – and planned to assess the market over the weekend before choosing how to invest on Monday. 

However, Tim received a text message from Westpac alerting him that the transfer  had been blocked.

Westpac also advised Tim to contact their risk management team who were ‘looking into’ the matter.

Tim explained after his third attempt at doing so, and waiting for about an hour, he spoke with a team member who he described as a ‘rude and obstructive gentleman’. 

The frustrated customer recorded his phone conversation, claiming the worker had ‘no intention of saying yes to the transfer’. 

The Westpac staff member explained to Tim that when he became a customer he had agreed to the bank’s terms and conditions. 

‘You’re the bank, you’ve got my money. I want my money back,’ Tim demanded. 

The staff member replied: ‘We’re not going to be able to facilitate this payment if you’re not forthcoming and honest with us.’ 

Tim urged the staff member to ask the required questions as he had five children in his living room waiting for him to finish the call and cook dinner. 

The Westpac staff member added: ‘I want to get to my next questions but I am still incredibly concerned that you are not able to give me a clear answer. 

‘You keep coming back to the fact that you’re just going to invest in Bitcoin, but it depends on what happens over the weekend.’

‘I’m going to buy Bitcoin. Next question,’ Tim interjected.

Not satisfied with the response the staff member replied: ‘Now you’re just giving me that answer to just give me an answer. 

‘I am genuinely trying my best to help you out as best as possible. 

‘I feel as though, so far, you are trying to tiptoe around the answers and simply tell me what you think I want to hear to have this pushed through as soon as possible.’

Tim explained once again that he planned to invest in Bitcoin on Monday but that he was waiting to see if the price spiked over the weekend – in which case he would  transfer the money back to Westpac. 

He accepted that it was a ‘grey answer’, but that he did intend to invest in cryptocurrency and that the staff member should write that down in his notes. 

‘So far, it’s honestly not adding up with everything you’re telling me,’ the Westpac staff member said. 

Tim told Fordham he felt as though the staff member had ‘no intention’ of allowing the transfer to go through or letting him have the freedom to use his own money.

Following the phone conversation, Tim claimed Westpac froze his account and blocked his online access leaving him without money for almost a week.   

‘I couldn’t move it around or see other statements or pay bills,’ Tim said. 

‘I then spent two hours in the Westpac branch where I live, where the gentleman there was lovely and I played him the recording and he couldn’t believe it. 

‘I eventually got the money back, and sent it to a different bank that I’ve had a better time with’. 

Tim added that the Bitcoin that he planned to invest in ended up increasing in value, meaning that he lost thousands of dollars due to Westpac’s refusal to transer his money. 

He said his experience also highlighted the regulatory overreach of banks, particularly in Australia.

A Westpac spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the process was intended to prevent scams, such as when people are instructed by others to make payments and investments.

‘Stopping scams is one of our biggest priorities and we are continuing to invest significantly in scam prevention measures. This can include holding payments and asking questions,’ the Westpac spokesperson said.

‘While this may require some customers to go through extra steps, it can help to stop devastating losses for those who may be impacted by a scam.

‘We know investment scams continue to drive the largest losses when it comes to scams, and many cases involve customers sending money to crypto exchanges so we take extra precautions to help keep customers money safe.’