Banks address and help resolve readers’ concerns
One customer complains about loan interest rate while another was concerned about her bank withholding service benefits and third says bank has been charging for late debits
Outstanding bank charges
Ihave had a credit card with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) since 2011. I availed one balance transfer for Dh12,500 and one quick cash option for Dh10,000; both were for the tenure of 36 months.
My card limit is Dh55,000, and when I approached the bank to close the card, my principal outstanding was Dh36,500, but the bank asked me to pay Dh42,500, including the full interest of 36 months of balance transfer and quick cash. Earlier, when I had availed these options, I clearly asked the agent and confirmed that I could close the outstanding by only paying the principal amount with a standard closing fee.
I paid Dh33,500 as cash and now, have asked for a liability letter, but the account still shows a balance of Dh11,500. When I enquired about my current outstanding, including the closing fee, it was approximately Dh7,100, whereby the bank asked me to pay Dh4,400 as interest, which I could not accommodate, because I am trying to top up my personal loan to close the subject card.
My history with FAB is very good, and I was regularly paying my dues without any fines, ever since I had this card, so I am seeking the help of Gulf News to intervene and settle my outstanding in n fair way.
From Mr Shafeer Hydrose Dubai
The management of FAB responds:
FAB supports the growth ambitions of its stakeholders and goes beyond financial products and services, and as such, we are grateful for all customer feedback as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Hydrose via email, and informed the customer that his first instalment plan has been closed, with all interest charges and foreclosure fees waived.
Mr Hydrose responds:
Yes, they waived the charges and I am waiting to complete 45 days to withdraw the excess amount in the card. I am very grateful to see the feedback from FAB, and I am very pleased by the support provided, both by them and by Gulf News.
(Process initiation: May 27. Response from organisation: June 14. Reader confirmation: July 17.)
Benefits withheld by bank
Ireceived a big surprise when the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) customer service staff told me that DIB would not release my end-of-service benefits (EOSB) due to my loan, which is as per their “new policy”.
I checked with my finance advisor in DIB and he also didn’t know about this policy. He told me that once I give my salary transfer letter, the bank would release my EOSB. The bank just needs to know if you have a new job, which will ensure that you will pay them.
I was totally left in the dark on this “new policy”. I would not be writing this letter if I knew this all along, before I signed those loan papers.
I would understand if DIB withheld my gratuity if I didn’t have a secure job, but since I do, what is the issue? I don’t even know if the adjustment will change the timeline on how many years more I will have to pay my loan.
I seek this avenue because I believe that DIB should be more responsible in giving information.
From Ms Joan Arc Dionisio
Abu Dhabi
The management of DIB responds:
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) would like to confirm that its customer support team has been informed about Ms Dionisio’s situation. We are pleased to say that the team has successfully contacted the customer and the grievance has been resolved in due course.
Our ‘customer first’ approach is an integral component of how we function as a business and we are committed to doing everything we can to resolve the concerns of our customers.
Ms Dionisio responds:
I want to acknowledge that DIB did resolve the issue. It was a good thing, although I couldn’t say that I was 100 per cent pleased about it. But, all’s well that ends well. My gratitude to the bank and Gulf News in assisting me in this issue.
(Process initiation: May 28. Response from organisation: June 5. Reader confirmation: July 9.)
Unsettled account
Iam writing to Gulf News about an issue with Emirates Islamic. My previous company was paying my salary late, because of which, my equated monthly instalment (EMI) payments were getting rejected from my account. I had no other option than to open a new account and issue new cheques with revised dates, so this would not impact the issue in the future. After new cheques were submitted and considering the new dates, the Collections department kept debiting my account late for nine months, even though funds were available in the account.
I paid Dh100 so bank would take the necessary steps, but in spite of that, for nine months, they kept charging me Dh200 per month for no fault of mine.
I approached their branch to resolve the issue and accordingly reverse the charges. The collections department agreed to rectify the issue if I settled the loan in full. Unfortunately, the loan amount was too high for me to settle immediately. So I decided to approach them at the end of the loan term.
I have been contacting all the bank numbers and the branch to help me with this for the past three months, but the Collections department refuses to help. The agents who contacted me are very rude. They had agreed in January 2018, but I haven’t heard from them ever since.
From Mr Allen Abraham
Dubai
The management of Emirates Islamic responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Abraham’s concerns to our attention.
Our Customer Experience team has been in touch with Mr Abraham and we are happy to report that 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 service to our customers.
(Process initiation: June 5. Response from organisation: June 13. Process completion: July 17.)
Waiting for liability letter
My bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), have taken over 20 working days over their specified time period of 10 working days to provide me with a liability letter to close my credit cards and consolidate my debt. The cards are just accruing interest while they offer no explanation as to why it is delayed.
An update on the details of the complaint. The process of me closing my credit cards was started in October 2017 and due to various inadequacies of the bank, it is still not fully resolved. I have been waiting for the bank to issue me a clearance letter despite the credit cards finally being paid off and closed since January 24.
This is stopping my personal bank from being able to disperse money from my loan needed to pay off my other cards, which are now accruing interest for months due to the bank’s inability to meet their own deadlines set by themselves. The section of FAB responsible for issues by the letter will not respond to any correspondence from the manager and other staff of my local branch, which seems highly unprofessional and frustrating for myself.
From Mr Christian Chung Dubai
The management of FAB responds:
FAB supports the growth ambitions of its stakeholders and goes beyond financial products and services, and as such, we are grateful for all customer feedback as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with the customer and the matter has been resolved.
Mr Chung responds:
It has been resolved now. (Process initiation: March 22, 2018. Response from organisation: March 25, 2018. Process completion: May 25, 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
My principal outstanding was Dh36,500, but the bank asked me to pay Dh42,500, including the full interest of 36 months of balance transfer and quick cash.”
Shafeer Hydrose | Reader
I paid Dh100 so bank would take the necessary steps, but in spite of that, for nine months, they kept charging me Dh200 per month for no fault of mine.”
Allen Abraham | Reader
I have been waiting for the bank to issue me a clearance letter [liability letter] despite the credit cards finally being paid off and closed since January 24.”
Christian Chung | Reader