Reader raises concern over unsafe pedestrian crossing in Deira, Dubai.

One customer was asked to submit documents multiple times and the other had his credit card blocked due to ‘review of business’

Waiting for mortgage transfer

Ihave a mortgage with Mashreq Bank, and it is a joint application under my wife’s name and my own. I requested its transfer to my wife solely.

On September 27, 2017, all requested documents were submitted to Mashreq’s Umm Suqeim branch in Dubai. On October 31, over a month after submitting the documents, we received a response from them, wherein they requested additional documents. On November 8, the requested documents were sent to the mortgage department and since then, we haven’t received any feedback from them.

I’ve constantly been calling the bank’s customer service centre, but always receive the same response, which is: “Request has been submitted and mortgage department will call you back with updates.” However, I haven’t received any calls. I went to the bank’s office and had a meeting with the national sales manager and mortgage adviser.

Further to my meeting with them on December 6, they advised me to send an email, copying them, and I was promised that I would get feedback by December 14.

I didn’t receive any response to my email, so I called the mortgage adviser on December 23 and he assured me that he would request the mortgage department to call me back as soon as possible, because they were quite busy. I sent another follow-up email on December 26 to check the status and asked to be informed on the expected response date, to be able to decide any future action I would have to take in order to resolve the case. But I still received no response from Mashreq. I really wish Gulf News would help me out, as I really don’t know what to do anymore. From Mr Samer Al Sarrag

Dubai

The management of Mashreq responds:

We have reviewed the concerns raised by Mr Al Sarrag regarding the delay in transfer of mortgage to a joint applicant’s name. Our investigation reveals that Mr Al Sarrag is a joint applicant with his wife, Ms Aygul, on the mortgage facility availed with Mashreq. The request to transfer the mortgage to his wife’s name was received on September 27, 2017 and as further documentation was required, our team reached out to Ms Aygul and advised her to provide the new application form along with the latest documents. We received the documents from Ms Aygul, which had gone for a review and took a longer time than expected. Once again, we contacted Ms Aygul and apologised for the delay, and requested her to provide the latest pay slips and income documents in order to revalidate the credit proposal and to process her request to transfer the mortgage to herself as a single owner. We have contacted Mr Al Sarrag and provided him the above clarification and he is satisfied with the clarification provided. We take this opportunity to thank Gulf News once again for bringing a customer issue to our notice.

Mr Al Sarrag responds:

Thank you Gulf News for contacting me. I would like to inform that I’m not satisfied with the bank’s explanation, as this is what has been happening since the beginning. This will be the third time we are sending them the same documents, and again, it might take a long time.

Moreover, they already sent me an email, stating that the mortgage has been transferred and called my wife saying the same. But, after Gulf News contacted them, I found out that both phone calls and emails were just excuses — the mortgage was not transferred. Please note that I won’t be satisfied till the mortgage is finally transferred and the apartment ownership is transferred, too.

The management of Mashreq responds:

We contacted Mr Al Sarrag and ensured him that we are following up with Ms Aygul, who is Mr Al Sarrag’s wife, and the process will be completed as soon as the latest income documents are received, to revalidate the credit proposal. A timely follow-up is kept to ensure that the mortgage transfer process is completed, and a follow-up email has been forwarded to Ms Aygul on February 8, 2018. The matter is pending at the couple’s end as we cannot process further without the wife’s pay slips. Ms Aygul also requested a liability letter on February 6, as she wants to transfer the mortgage to another bank and the same has been issued. We will close the matter as soon as we have the necessary documents.

Mr Al Sarrag responds:

Thank you Gulf News for all the help in my case. My wife managed to get the new mortgage approval from another bank, which has also bought the old mortgage from Mashreq. Moreover, the new bank collected the release documents and original title deed from Mashreq, and we are now going through the transfer process.

I’m now satisfied with the place I’ve reached, with Gulf News’ help.

(Process initiation: February 5, 2018. Response from organisation: February 7, 2018. Reader confirmation: March 21, 2018.)

Card blocked without notice

Ihold a RAKBank credit card since 16 years and have never ever defaulted on any payments. All dues have been paid in time, but 10 days ago I received a text message from RAKBank telling me that my credit card has been blocked. I called their Customer Service but they were unable to provide a clear answer. They just said that the bank blocked my card and they even said that it would be of no use visiting their branch because even they cannot help me. Then, I sent an email to the bank. After a couple of reminders, they responded that the card had been blocked based on ‘review of business’. Not convinced with their reply, I visited their Al Qusais branch but unfortunately got the same answer as the one I received from their customer service. I was also told that it would not be re-activated anymore.

Just before the card was blocked, I made an excess payment of Dh5,000 to cover my child’s school fees. The next day the card was blocked. When I asked them to refund my money, they asked to cancel my card, which takes three to four working days and I need to wait for 45 days to get refunded! This is ridiculous — no reason, no notice and they block my card, showing no courtesy or respect to the customer. I believe Gulf News should take up this matter and help with this situation. From Mr Nakhuda Aftar Ahmad Dubai

The management of RAKBank responds:

Please note that as per banks’ standards and best practice in the UAE banking industry, the Bank is limited with respect to disclosing or providing details and/or specific information about their customers to any third party to maintain the confidentiality of their data and personal information. Kindly note that Mr Ahmad’s credit card was blocked on March 1, 2018 as per the bank’s internal policy and a text message confirming the same was sent to his registered contact number. Since receipt of your email, we are in touch with the customer to resolve his concerns.

(Process initiation: March 20 Response from organisation: March 22 Process completion: April 10)

■ 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.