By Ashley Nickel,Editor

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Aussie is locked out of her bank account for a SECOND time in months without explanation: ‘There is something wrong’

Katie McMaster was locked from her account

It has been eight days without explanation

READ MORE: Commonwealth Bank suffers devastating outage

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 01:12 BST, 6 October 2025 | Updated: 01:36 BST, 6 October 2025

A frustrated Aussie has lashed out after she was locked out of her account for the second time in less than four months, despite changing banks.

Katie McMaster, 36, had to visit an HSBC branch in Melbourne last week to verify her identity after she was locked out of her personal accounts.

She had switched from her previous bank, ING, in June after a similar issue left her unable to access her money for two days after her account was suspended.

Ms McMaster, who works as a personal assistant, said she’d jumped through multiple hoops to have her HSBC account unlocked but was unsuccessful.

‘There is something seriously wrong with the banks in Australia,’ she said.

‘I can’t believe I’m already making another one of these TikToks, but it’s happened to me again.’

Ms McMaster realised she’d been blocked from her HSBC funds when she logged into online banking and couldn’t see any accounts.

Initially thinking it was a technical issue, she called the bank and learned her account had been flagged for fraud.

How is this happening to me again with no notice from HSBC?! 🤪#storytime #bank #australia #fyp
♬ original sound – Katie McMaster

Ms McMaster (pictured) only learned the account was blocked when she logged into her internet banking

Ms McMaster said she received no notification from the bank and had no suspicious transactions.

‘I was advised that I needed to go into a branch and verify my identity with 100 points of ID and they couldn’t tell me as to why the restrictions had been put on,’ she said.

‘I thought that this was a little bit strange as normally the banks can at least tell you as to why the restrictions have been placed.

‘Once I got into the branch, I provided the teller with 100 points of ID, they added it to my account and said that I would need to now wait two to three business days for a response from HSBC.

‘Again, they couldn’t tell me as to why the restrictions were taking place, only that I had to wait while they investigated.’

The personal transaction account only received Ms McMaster’s monthly salary and was used for her standard everyday transactions.

‘Guys, I am just a regular girl in Melbourne,’ she said.

‘The only bulk incoming payment is my salary from my job that I’ve been at for almost three years – same employer, same bank account, always paying monthly.

HSBC (pictured) has locked Katie McMaster out of her personal account for eight days with no explanation

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‘The outgoings are just my mortgage, my bills and expenses for the cost of living, the occasional restaurant or bar here and there, and my phone bill.

‘It’s very stock standard. Uber might be the most random one.’

As of Monday, Ms McMaster has been locked out of her accounts for eight days and still hasn’t been given a reason why her account was flagged.

Having learnt from her experience with ING, she had asked how she was meant to cover her daily expenses the first time she visited the bank branch.

‘I asked the teller, “What am I supposed to do with no access to my funds for two days?”, and she just laughed and said, “Good question”,’ Ms McMaster said.

Several commenters under Ms McMaster’s video shared their own horror stories about being locked out of personal accounts.

‘HSBC just did something very similar to me. I am moving all my accounts from them this week,’ one said.

‘Same thing happened to me THREE times in the space of seven months! Westpac!’ another wrote.

‘I had CBA do this to me last month and then ING did the same thing to me 2 weeks ago,’ another said.

Australian banks are permitted to block accounts for several reasons, including suspicious activity, money laundering or if an account is compromised.

Ms McMaster has lodged a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and plans to switch banks once her accounts are unlocked.

She called for a large-scale review of Australia’s existing bank laws.

‘How are the banks given so much control that they can stop you accessing your funds and deciding what you want to do with your money?’ Ms McMaster said.

‘I think a review on all Australian banks needs to be done as soon as possible as this can’t be happening to everyday consumers.’

Daily Mail has contacted HSBC for comment.

HSBCMelbourne

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Aussie is locked out of her bank account for a SECOND time in months without explanation: ‘There is something wrong’

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