Readers’ issues resolved by banks and telecom provider
One reader says his bank account wrongfully reflected a negative balance; another says he was charged over-limit fees on his credit card and the third was not getting phone coverage in his work area
As I’m constructing my house I needed urgent cash. The Union National Bank (UNB) branch recommended an overdraft facility for the months of July, August and September 2017. In the month of July it was paid once my salary was credited and the bank got their money. I then withdrew the remaining amount. I found out that there are draft charges, which were not taken yet that took my account to (-100). In the month of August, I obtained an overdraft, which again was paid in September 2017, and the same thing happened in July and my account went to (-255). UNB updated Al Etihad Credit Bureau, and marked these months as negative and showed I have an outstanding amount.
As per my Al Etihad Credit Bureau current account, it can have a negative balance, however they don’t have the authority to change it, only a bank can do that. When I spoke to the bank, they refused to change without even putting effort to call and discuss the case. They only replied through email and escalated the issue to the Central Bank. But there was no resolution. The bank didn’t even bother to send me a message to inform me that the account went into a negative balance. And in the case of an overdraft, how come I’m marked negative for something the bank is offering? This is affecting me, as I can’t take a loan from any bank. I’ve already been rejected by four banks and I need to finance my home construction. From Mr Nooh
Al Sayegh
Dubai
The management of Union National Bank responds:
The customer care representatives have already replied to the customer on February 19, 2018, and informed him that they have already updated the account contract at Al Etihad Credit Bureau portal as zero outstanding balance in December, 2017 and January, 2018.
(Process initiation: January 20, 2018. Response from organisation: February 18, 2018. Process completion: September 6, 2018.)
Over-limit fees
Iam using First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) credit card. Recently I noticed in my past two statements that they charged me over-limit fees twice in the past three months of Dh325. I called its customer care but they hardly care for their customers. My card was having a positive balance of Dh447.78 on February 16, 2018 and on February 22, they charged me an over-limit fee, which is not correct. If they show balances in positive in the mobile app, for instance, in April and June, my balance was Dh900, then why was I charged over-limit fees? These are unjustified over limit charges for the past three months.
From Mr Mohsin Mohammad Shafi Rumani
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 Rumani, and the matter has been resolved.
Mr Rumani responds:
Many thanks for the kind intervention from Gulf News; my issue has been resolved now. Thanks again for the timely response.
(Process initiation: July 16. Response from organisation: July 19. Reader confirms: September 17.)
Call for service
Iswitched my number from etisalat to Virgin Mobile on September 1 as sales representative offered me a yearly Virgin Mobile deal so I paid Dh1,354.50 for one year in advance. However the next day at my work basement there was no coverage at all so I called Virgin Mobile and they said that’s normal. I called the sales agent and asked him if I can switch my number back to etisalat and have a new number from Virgin Mobile which I paid for. He said yes, so I port out my number back to etisalat but unfortunately Virgin Mobile told me that I lost what I paid for Dh1,354.50. I raised a case with them and called them every day without positive feedback. Also I have recharged my Virgin wallet with Dh50, which I have lost as well. I want my money back as I don’t like dealing with Virgin Mobile anymore since I don’t have coverage in my work basement area.
From Mr Emad Abdul Qader Nazal
Abu Dhabi
The management of Virgin Mobile responds:
It is in Virgin Mobile’s utmost importance to be transparent and fair to its customers. In this particular case, the customer had requested to port out his Virgin Mobile number back to his old operator, and also wanted to keep the plan he paid for and transfer it to a new line. As this approach has never been done before, we needed to test with our technical team if this practice would be feasible. Unfortunately, there was no technical work around possible for this precise case and we agreed with the customer that we would refund — we are working to put this right. The refund amount was for Dh1,128.75 and took place on September 11. This accounts for the amount of the initial payment made by the customer, minus one month’s subscription (valued at Dh225.75) as he consumed some of the plan. However, as a gesture of goodwill we will also refund the Dh227.75 to the customer.
It is our goal to provide the best customer service for our users, and this issue was solved
for our customer within one week. We pride ourselves on always listening to customers’ feedback and will be working with our technical team on a way to make this change possible in the future. We apologise for any inconvenience that this customer may have had.
(Process initiation: September 23. Response from organisation: September 25. Process completion: September 27)
■ 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.
The bank didn’t even bother to send me a message to inform me that the account went into a negative balance.”
From Mr Nooh Al Sayegh | Dubai