Readers’ issues raised with banks

One customer says he was charged annual fee on a credit card that was never activated, another finds it difficult to get a settlement on his credit card

Annual fees

I was issued a credit card in 2015, along with a car loan, from Ajman Bank. Before activating the card in March 2017, I asked and verified twice that no annual fee would be charged by the bank for the first year. I then decided to activate the card. The next day, I received a message that an amount of Dh100.60 was due, with due date of April 6, 2017. After a series of follow-ups and emails, the only response was — “still ongoing”. Now, the amount due has reached Dh2,358.57. The card has never been used. From Mr Allan Alaba Sharjah

Mr Alaba updates:

I thank Gulf News for the help rendered to me to call the attention of Ajman Bank to my complaint regarding my credit card. I also thank Ajman Bank for lifting the rating of the card in the Central Bank on December 11. I confirm that my issues with Ajman Bank are resolved.

Editor’s note: The complaint was forwarded to Ajman Bank for comments. However, despite repeated reminders, its management did not respond.

(Process initiation: October 23. Reader responds: December 15. Process completion: December 18.)

Looking for settlement

I have been holding two credit cards from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) for two years and have always paid my bills on time. I resigned from my job five months ago and since then, I have been trying to get a settlement from the bank. Every month, someone from the Collections Department calls and asks me to pay the minimum amount, until they give me a final settlement. My usage on the card was Dh6,000 in total. Now, they are quoting Dh15,000 as outstanding. I am trying to call the bank, but no one is giving me a final amount. Every month they call, asking for the minimum amount to be paid. I pay it and get no response regarding the settlement.

Each time they call, the outstanding amount keeps increasing by Dh2,000. This has been going on for four months. I request Gulf News to intervene. From Mr Arshad Ameer Khan Katermoola 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. Mr Katermoola has been informed that the bank will be in contact once the required documents to settle the card have been received and approved.

Mr Katermoola responds:

I submitted the documents on November 22. They initially informed me that it would be completed on the same day, but after that there was no response from them. Yet again, it’s the same story. I also received a message of opening and closing the complaint on the same day

Editor’s note: The reader’s concerns were further raised with the management of FAB. However, they stated that they had nothing further to add.

(Process initiation: November 21. Response from organisation: November 26. Process completion: December 18.)

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