Not free for life
I was given a free account and free credit card by the wealth management relationship manager from United Arab Bank (UAB), confirming that it’s a free-for-life card. I did not even activate the card and the annual fees were imposed on my card and account.
After numerous phone calls and branch visits in the Khalidiya area of Abu Dhabi, the annual fee was reversed thrice and thus there was a credit balance in my card.
After many more phone calls, the duplicate credit was reversed but late payment and other charges were applied to my card and account and the case was referred to the recovery department.
I have called over 30 times since June, 2014, and I’m struggling till date to close my account and cancel the card. I am extremely upset with such services from a bank. Please help me get rid of the unwanted account and credit card.
From Mr Ebrahim Siddiqi
Abu Dhabi
The management of United Arab Bank responds:
UAB is committed to serving its customers in the most efficient and fair manner possible. To clarify, the customer obtained a UAB Credit Card in June 2013, which was a first year free card, with annual fees of Dh500 to be chargeable every year. The fees and all other charges which were imposed are as per the published cards “Schedule of Charges”, available in all of our branches as well as on our website. We also fully comply with the regulations stipulated by the UAE Central Bank. However, we wish to confirm that, as a gesture of goodwill, we have already reversed the Annual Fees on July 14, 2014. We have now further reversed all other charges and the customer has already been informed. We would like to thank you for your continuous support in offering us the opportunity to further assist our valued customers.
Mr Siddiqi responds:
Thank you Gulf News for your support. Yes, I have been informed by the bank that all the charges were reversed in my account and the credit card, but as of today, my account balance is negative Dh351.97 and the credit card’s outstanding amount is Dh160.54 so the issue has still not been resolved. I have also asked the bank to issue a no liability letter and to return the security cheque — there is no response to that as well.
The management of United Arab Bank responds:
All the credit card charges have been reversed and the same will reflect on the customer’s statement of February 5, 2015. The customer’s next statement will be with zero balance. The customer’s negative balance or hold on the account is due to internal account adjustments, which has not happened. The same has been informed to the Operations team to be regularised and the same will be processed.
(Process initiation: January 13. Response from organisation: January 19. Process completion: February 11.)
Massive charges
I have been an avid reader of Gulf News for many years and appreciate the efforts undertaken by the publication towards resolving issues between various entities or institutions and the common folk.
I have been a Barclays Bank credit card holder for the past seven years. Throughout my time with Barclays, I have never missed/skipped a credit card payment (I have always made my payments in full).
However, for the month of September 2014, I received their statement only on October 27, in which I had an amount of Dh1,500 outstanding in this billing cycle, which was due for October 14. This usually did not happen earlier, but this was the phase when Barclays Bank was being taken over by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). A payment of Dh1,500 was made on the same day of the receipt of the statement.
Upon receipt of the next statement on November 23, I was surprised to learn that an interest of Dh5,327.92 and a late payment fee of Dh175 had been charged to me, for a late payment of Dh1,500. The fact that I had to pay Dh5,327.92 for an outstanding of Dh1,500 came as a big shock.
On the same day (November 23), a complaint was lodged with an ADIB customer care executive for the waiver of the interest and the late payment charges. He said that someone would call in 72 hours and resolve this matter, but nothing materialised. Again, I called up after four days and the result was the same.
I finally called up the bank on December 6 and spoke with another agent. I informed him to get this matter resolved at the earliest, as the payment due date was on December 8. I have made the payment for the actual amount due, leaving aside the interest and the late payment fee.
I request Gulf News to please intervene in the matter.
From Mr Nasser Chhipa
Dubai
The management of ADIB responds:
We looked at the issue and the customer is now registered under our e-statement services to avoid any delay in the future. We reversed all payments that were done due to the delay and the case was closed on December 25. The resolution was communicated to the customer and he was happy to close the case.
Mr Chhipa responds:
Firstly, a big thanks to the entire team of Gulf News in helping me sort out this issue.
While the bank has agreed to reverse the interest amount entirely, I have been informed that Dh175 against late payment will still be charged, however these charges are yet to appear in my statement.
(Process initiation: January 5. Response from organisation: January 6. Reader confirmation: February 3.)
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.
