The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger's, The New York Times, MONEY, CNN, NBC, ABC, Good Morning America, CBS, have reported incorrect mortgage rates - discovered via mortgage audits - in ARM's and escrow accounts.

If you have a mortgage or home loan with the Commonwealth Bank, you may want to double check the transaction dates reported by Netbank, before you rely on any of the figures. Clients have reported that the information displayed on Netbank (for their mortgages and home loans) often does not match the information on the printed home loan statements sent out by the Commonwealth Bank.

"On a sample of Commonwealth Bank mortgages statements we have reviewed, 58% of the interest transactions checked in a financial year had a different date displayed on Netbank, than was reported on the printed home loan statements.

Westpac Bank recently announced that it would refund $8million to the Westpac Premier Advantage Package mortgage customers after discovering they had not been receiving the full benefit on their accounts between 16 March 1998 and 31 July 2006. It was estimates that 40,000 (approximately 5%) of the 800,000 Westpac Premier Advantage Package clients have been impacted.

"Mortgage errors go unnoticed every day, but when one of the big banks announces a multi-million dollar refund it raises public awareness. Everyone then worries it could be their mortgage that is being overcharged.

"The big concern is that the problems started back in 1998 and none of the 40,000 Westpac clients noticed. These clients could have kept paying for bank mistakes over the next 30 years, if Westpac hadn't found the problem. When dealing with mortgages, even the smallest mistakes can compound into thousands over the life of the loan."

"We strongly recommend that everyone with a mortgage (and not just Westpac clients) check their statements for errors.