Readers’ issues addressed by financial institutions

Readers raise a host of grievances with banks and financial service provider and seek help

No clearance letter

I have two credit cards with Emirates NBD. I paid the outstanding amount and surrendered the credit cards to the bank. To get a clearance letter, I paid Dh100.

I cleared the payment and any outstanding amount, along with the excess charged on the credit card as part of the liability letter’s computation.

When I spoke with the bank’s call centre agent, he said it takes a minimum of 45 days for them to issue a clearance letter, and cited some UAE Central Bank guidelines. I asked him to show me the regulations, which restrict the bank from issuing a clearance letter.

Each payment is first approved by the bank, and subsequent to the submission of bills does the bank release the payment. So, if a card does not have any such issue, why should there be a delay?

Credit card issuing companies do charge a significant amount with regard to interest, still, I feel they find ways and means to trouble customers. When they cite regulations, and we ask them for more information, they fail to do so and ask us to visit their branches.

There should be a quick process for card closure and for providing a clearance letter. In earlier days, when there was no online system available, it makes sense, but in the current digital age with proper access and approvals, why should there be? People tend to forget such cases, and it remains with the Credit Bureau, causing an inconvenience for customers. From Mr Srinivasa Rao Nandi Raju Umm Al Quwain

The management of Emirates NBD responds:

We are pleased to inform you that our Group Customer Experience team has been in touch with Mr Raju and resolved the matter to his satisfaction.

We would like to reiterate our commitment to providing superior service to our customers and thank you for your continuous support in providing us with the opportunity to resolve their issues.

(Process initiation: December 31, 2017 Response from organisation: January 8.)

Wrong charges

P lease help me get a refund for a wrongly charged overlimit fee, by Emirates Islamic Bank, on my credit card statement for December 2017.

I paid Dh2,000 towards my credit card when I received my salary on November 27, 2017. Once the payment to the credit card was completed successfully, and I received a confirmation SMS from the bank, I made a telephone bill payment through internet banking, where I confirmed that the available limit was more than Dh2,000 and paid the bill amount.

On a side note, I am very much aware of my available limit and was waiting for my salary, to pay my credit card bill. Only once I did that did I pay for my telephone bill.

In my statement, it is clearly mentioned that the credit card payment was transacted on November 27.

When I queried with my bank about this, I was told that their system was being updated in 24 hours. So the payment of Dh2,000 which I made on my credit card on November 27, was actually updated on November 28.

But as for the bill payment, which I paid after clearing my credit card, was updated on the same date as my transaction. And because of that, I have crossed my available limit (as per their system), resulting in the application of an overcharge fee. As per the bank, it is correct, and my query for a refund was cancelled.

Please note, there was no urgency to pay for both the credit card and telephone bill, as there were enough days prior to the due dates for both. I was in India at that time, but as per regular practice, I paid for my credit card dues once I received my salary on that day. From Mr Alpesh Shivshankar Dubai

The management of Emirates Islamic responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Shivshankar’s concerns to our attention. Our Customer Experience team has been in touch with Mr Shivshankar and the issue has been resolved to his satisfaction. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the best customer experience to all our clients.

Mr Shivshankar responds:

Overlimit fee has been reversed by Emirates Islamic and the charged amount has been credited back to my card account. Thank you Gulf News, for taking the time to resolve the issue in a positive manner. I also thank Emirates Islamic staff as they checked and took the appropriate action in a short time.

(Process initiation: January 9, 2018. Response from organisation: January 11, 2018. Reader confirmation: January 13, 2018.)

Late payment fee

I wish to raise an issue I faced with my Najm Voyager card. I received this card in September 2017 and used the same to purchase air tickets for October 2017, priced at Dh1,330. I was travelling on vacation on October 5, so on October 4, I made a payment of Dh1,000 towards my Voyager card. This was my first payment, ever since I had received the Najm card. Nobody informed me of any billing date or payment due date till then. I also made a payment towards my Emirates NBD card and proceeded for my vacation. Since I was undergoing medical treatment, I had no access to my phone and emails.

I returned on October 30, and the moment I switched on my mobile phone, I received a message from Najm about pending payments. I called their customer care the next day and an agent told me that I had a late payment fee because my billing date was October 5, and I would need to make the payment by October 30 to avoid fines. I explained to him that I made a payment on October 4, since I was travelling, and told him that never once was my billing date communicated to me.

He told me to make the remaining payment of Dh330 and then place a request, which I duly did. After a day, I got a call from another agent who was rude and not willing to listen.

Firstly, I have no communication from Najm where they have stated the date for payment, except after October 5, which is when I was not in town. Since this was my very first bill, I cleared the major amount a day before the billing date to avoid any late payments while I was on vacation. I told them that I could send them all my tickets to prove that my claims were correct. I am really unhappy with Najm’s approach? From Ms Sajitha Chandran Dubai

The management of Majid Al Futtaim Finance responds:

Please be aware that we have been in contact with the customer in question and we have addressed and resolved her concerns.

Ms Chandran responds:

Yes, it has been resolved. Thanks to Gulf News , I got a call from their customer service manager and he reversed the charges for me.

(Process initiation: January 13, 2018. Response from organisation: January 16, 2018. Reader confirmation: February 10, 2018.)

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