Shocked and Disappointed by Standard Bank Home Loan Service

I was approved for a Home Loan with Standard Bank last year. My estate agent advised me that if I opened a Standard Bank account and moved my salary there, I would qualify for a preferential interest rate.

I agreed, and shortly after, a Standard Bank agent contacted me. She assisted me with opening my new account, and I moved my salary over about a month later. I've been banking with Standard Bank ever since.

Fast forward to last week—after receiving the keys to the property, I received another call from Standard Bank asking me to authorise a progress payment. I gave my authorisation and asked the agent when my first bond repayment would be due. She said she would confirm, but first needed to call my wife for her authorisation as well, since it's a joint bond.

She never got back to me.

To my absolute shock, I then received a threatening email from Standard Bank titled "Cross-sell Concession Removal Letter." The email stated that I had failed to comply with the conditions of the concession—namely, that I had not opened a Standard Bank account—and as a result, my preferential interest rate would be removed.

This is simply not true. I did open a Standard Bank account and have been using it as my main account since last year.

I immediately called Standard Bank Home Loans for clarity. The consultant told me to write a letter (co-signed by my wife) giving permission for the bond repayments to be debited from my account. I did so and sent the letter to the provided email address on 16 May 2025. I received an automatic reply—but nothing further.

Since then, I’ve received SMS messages saying my query has been resolved and that I would be contacted. No one has contacted me.

What’s worse is that the bond repayment amount showing on the banking app has increased. The most recent letter I received from Standard Bank dated 30 January 2025 stated that my monthly instalment would be R7,053.94, but the app now reflects R7,831.03.

I am deeply frustrated and disappointed. I have never encountered such poor service—especially from a bank I trusted enough to move my salary to and take out a home loan with. We haven’t even started paying the bond yet, and already I feel completely let down.

Standard Bank, is this how you treat your clients?