Card and loan issues raised with banks

One reader is surprised to find annual fee charged on a free-forlife credit card, while another has an issue with refund of EMIs

Annual fee charged

I would like to request Gulf News to help me to sort out my issue with FGB.

I have an FGB credit card, which I got from their agent. He approached us at our workplace and urged us to apply for a free-for-life credit card. I paid the outstanding bill completely on August 2013 before resigning from my job, and confirmed in September that there was no outstanding amount remaining on my card.

One week ago, I went to FGB’s Dubai Mall branch to check the status of my card, but they refused to check it because they didn’t have access to check anything regarding credit cards, so they told me to check with the call centre. When I called the call centre, they said I had Dh3,200 outstanding on my card, because they added annual fees, which I hadn’t paid. So they further added late payment and interest charges.

My case is with their Collections department, and I have contacted them to make a settlement plan. I tried to contact them for almost a week, but received no answer. I really don’t have money to settle this, because I am in financial trouble now. From Mr Thameem Ameer Ali Dubai

The management of FGB responds:

FGB is grateful for all customer feedback to which we give careful consideration as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Ali and the matter has been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Mr Ali responds:

The problem has been sorted out. I got a confirmation email from FGB’s Collections department. Thank you very much for your help.

(Process initiation: September 15. Response from organisation: September 19. Response from reader: October 10.)

Still paying

I would like to highlight an issue I faced with Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) with regard to the refund of my equated monthly instalments (EMI), which were deducted even after the early settlement of personal finance.

As I was leaving for vacation on July 16, 2015, I wanted to settle my full finance amount and close the same on an early settlement basis. Accordingly, I approached Al Twar Branch of EIB (Dubai Municipality building) on July 11. I met a representative of EIB and as per his instructions, settled the complete amount, enabling the closure of the personal finance plan I had with the bank. I requested them to provide me with a clearance certificate, which I was informed would be received in two days time.

As per instructions received from the representative, I called the call centre to check on the status of the clearance certificate. I was told that the clearance certificate was still not ready.

Upon checking after returning from my holiday, I noticed in my statement that an amount of Dh2,719 had been deducted again, even though I had already closed the personal finance plan. Accordingly, on August 15, I approached the Al Twar branch office and spoke to the same EIB representative. He again confirmed that the amount was wrongly deducted and that the same would be refunded to my account after the completion of procedures.

I again visited the same branch on August 22. I was then informed that I was eligible to get a refund after deducting the interest up to the same date. I questioned as to why I was being charged interest, even though I had already settled the complete finance? I was told that it was a mistake, which happened on the part of the finance team, so I approached their superiors on the same day and explained the situation. The EIB staff member again reconfirmed the same with the EIB representative and assured me he would take up the matter with the management, saying the complete amount would be reimbursed to my account.

On August 29, I again visited the branch and received a clearance certificate, but the amount was yet to be reimbursed.

Upon checking my online statement yesterday, I noticed that an amount of Dh2,054.54 (minus Dh664.46) was remitted to my account, which was not in line with my request and the confirmation I received from the branch office.

Due to the above issue, which was not correctly handled, I had a lot of losses such as two standing instructions, for which I received a fine, because of the deductions of the EMI, which were already settled from my side. My salary was also deducted for the leave I had to take to visit the branch office for settling this particular issue.

In spite visiting the branch many times and contacting the call centres, I was not able to get a proper solution and refund of the full amount.

Therefore, I want Gulf News’ urgent intervention to resolve this issue. From Mr Manoj Rajan Dubai

The management of EIB responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Rajan’s concerns to our attention.

We have been in touch with Mr Rajan, following a thorough investigation into this incident, and we regret the inconvenience caused to him. Our findings have now concluded and we have refunded the full amount to Mr Rajan’s account on September 16, and have informed the customer of the same. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the highest-level of customer service to our loyal clientele.

(Process initiation: September 15. Response from organisation: September 20. Process completion: October 13.)

Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@gulfnews.com

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