Auto loan issue
I had purchased a new car and the showroom offered me auto loan from Emirates Islamic bank in June. I provided all the information and the paperwork to the bank agent. The loan was approved and processed, and I received my car.
Later, when the first instalment was due in August, I got a message from Emirates Islamic that the auto loan amount had not been charged by my bank, which is Emirates NBD (same group). I was surprised to see that message because I told the agent that my salary comes in on the 26th of every month. So I started following up. I called Emirates Islamic and they took my request to take a loan instalment from my account and they put up the request. The call centre agent who noted down my request was helpful, and advised me to visit a branch to change my due date, which I did, and the bank then called me to sign a few documents to process the same.
On September 2, I got a message from Emirates NBD that the loan amount had been deducted, so I was satisfied that my loan amount had been paid to the bank as per process. But the satisfaction did not last long. I got a second message from my bank on September 4 that the loan amount had been deducted again.
I called Emirates Islamic to place a request to refund the amount, which they took two times. I got a message from the bank that my request had been resolved. So I called Emirates NBD to check my account balance — the amount was not credited.
I called Emirates Islamic again on September 10 and placed another request and the call centre agent confirmed that I would get a call back in 24 hours. This never happened. I waited and called them again on September 12. The call centre agent informed me that my latest request had been closed. When I asked how and why since there was no action taken, he said that because of a systems problem, they closed my request. The bank did not have the courtesy to at least send me a message or call to inform that they were opening a new request, since the old one had been closed.
The agent took my call back request and I am still following up to get my amount back, which Emirates Islamic charged me twice without my knowledge.
I request Gulf News to intervene and get the issue sorted out, as I have seen that the newspaper has been very helpful in such matters.
From Mr Roger Binny, Dubai
The management of Emirates Islamic responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Binny’s concerns to our attention. Emirates Islamic can confirm that the first instalment of Mr Binny’s repayment for his auto financing loan, due on August 25, was not processed due to insufficient funds. Once funds became available, on September 2, the first instalment of the repayment was successfully completed.
The following day, a duplicate instalment was debited from the customer’s account due to a technical issue, which was immediately identified and rectified. The refund of this secondary payment was made and our customer care unit made contact with Mr Binny to inform him of the issue and to reassure him that it had been resolved.
We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the highest level of customer service to our loyal clientele.
Mr Binny responds:
The bank has called me but the amount has still not been credited to my account. An agent called me and said she would check if it could be adjusted in September’s payment but then called me again and confirmed that this was not possible. Then, she offered a manager’s cheque and advised me to spend more money for parking and more time collecting the cheque to deposit it in my account. I refused this offer.
I requested her to put the money back in my account the same way they had taken it from there. She said she would check on the matter. The issue is still pending. I have not got my money yet.
Emirates Islamic responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Binny’s concerns to our attention once again. The bank contacted the customer on September 22 to advise him about the refund. Mr Binny made a request to adjust the amount towards his next instalment. We advised him on September 23 that it is not possible, following which, he requested us to refund the money back to his account. The customer was contacted within two days on September 25 to collect the cheque. The customer requested it to be deposited to his Emirates NBD account, which was done on September 28.
We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the highest level of customer service to our loyal clientele.
Mr Binny responds:
Thank you very much for the follow up and I am really glad that Gulf News is doing a very good job by helping consumers. Yes, my issue has been resolved.
Eligible or not?
Standard Chartered was running a Cashback offer, which included a return of 10 per cent on school fee payment.
The bank then decided to make changes to the offer and turn it into a three per cent Cashback, effective July 1, which meant that school fees paid after July 1 would not be eligible.
I paid my child’s school fee in June, however received only three per cent Cashback. The reason given was that since the statement was generated in July, the revised offer of three per cent Cashback applied. This is completely unfair. I request Gulf News’ help in this matter.
From Mr Vikas Gupta, Dubai
The management of Standard Chartered responds:
Upon receiving the complaint, Standard Chartered Customer Care Unit contacted the customer and explained the new Cashback structure relating to school fee payments. The issue stands resolved. The Standard Chartered MasterCard Titanium remains the credit card that provides cardholders with unparalleled value and Cashback in the UAE and our customers can still receive up to 10 per cent Cashback on their school fee payments, supermarket spend and utility bills, the highest in the UAE today.
Mr Gupta responds:
The bank did contact me, and they have resolved the issue. They have credited the Cashback points. Thank you Gulf News for taking this issue up.
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.
