More for less
When I was offered a credit card last year by a salesperson at First Gulf Bank (FGB), he mentioned that it is a free for life card and that there is no annual charge. But in February, I got billed Dh500 as an annual fee. When I called customer care, they suggested that FGB’s sales people provided me with the wrong information.
FGB’s customer care said they would send the reversal request for me, but the reversal of annual charge would be subject to their approval.
After two hours, another person from the bank called me and said I have to spend Dh2,000 in March for them to consider reversing my annual fee of Dh500.
I think this is just ridiculous. How could FGB possibly do that - reverse an incorrect charge by requesting customers to purchase more?
Could Gulf News please help resolve this issue?
From Mr Xin Wang
Abu Dhabi
The management of First Gulf Bank responds:
FGB is committed to listening to its customers and receiving their feedback to ensure that we deliver the best possible service. The bank has contacted Mr Wang to discuss the matter and the annual charge on the card has been reversed. Mr Wang has a free for life card and he will not receive any annual charges going forward.
Mr Wang responds:
I am pleased to see the problem has been properly resolved. Thank you so much for all the support from Gulf News.
(This complaint was sent to Gulf News on March 5, 2014. Process completed: March 13, 2014.)
Bad experience
I have been to many banks and many branches, but the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) branch at Mall of the Emirates was probably the worst in terms of experience.
When I paid them a visit, the branch had opened at 9am, but there were no cashiers till 9.40am, which led to 30 people waiting in line to be served.
Even after they came in, out of three cashier counters, only one was manned and the cashier still had time for a chat with other staff members. I waited till 11am to get served because I needed to cash in my salary cheque.
The staff members even let people they know skip the token system. I know that NBAD is one of the largest banks in the UAE, but retail clients are not getting proper treatment at this particular branch.
Huge expenses go into the decoration but is that more important than maintaining service levels?
From Mr Shahzad Tajani
Dubai
The management of National Bank of Abu Dhabi responds:
We were extremely sorry to read the comments from Mr Tajani regarding his recent experience. We have since spoken to him as there was indeed an issue with our teller service on March 1.
The day started with one of our tellers reporting in sick, which was further compounded by another of our tellers calling the branch to inform that he was stuck in major congestion due to fog. The branch had tried to arrange for an additional teller, however, the fog that morning seemed to impede many people’s commute in to work.
We have since explained to Mr Tajani that once the teller arrived at the branch, there was a short team briefing on mandatory regulatory requirements and how to provide the best service under the circumstances.
Our extended apologies have been shared with Mr Tajani regarding a customer that appeared to have jumped the queue. This customer is one of our Elite Customers, where we do offer a priority service through the queuing system, however, on this particular occasion this regular customer did not use the system.
We have personally thanked Mr Tajani for his valuable feedback, which has already been shared directly with our branch manager. It is very important to us that we learn from our customers’ experiences to ensure we continually strive in improving our service.
Mr Tajani responds:
Indeed NBAD did get in touch with me. In addition to this incident, I provided them with another couple of incidents that they could review. I guess the ball is in their court to act on the complaints. Gulf News, I must thank you for the time taken to handle such issues and actually follow up with both sides for a solution. Kudos to your team.
(This complaint was sent to Gulf News on March 7, 2014. Process completed: March 18, 2014.)
No refund yet
I have been struggling to get my refund from Air India Express since July 2013 and had emailed them more than 20 times. There has been no action yet. This is just rude behaviour. I even asked them to give it to me as credit so that I could book my future tickets. There has been no proper response at all.
From Mr Hameed Jafar Sadiq
Abu Dhabi
The management of Air India Express responds:
This is to inform you that Dh569.35 has been refunded to Mr Sadiq’s credit card on March 5. The amount will reflect in the credit card account within four to five working days. Kindly accept our sincere apology for the delay in processing the refund and the inconvenience caused to the customer.
Mr Sadiq responds:
Thanks a lot for the excellent assistance. I finally received my refund after nearly eight months of follow-up and tons of emails.
(This complaint was sent to Gulf News on March 4, 2014. Process completed: March 5, 2014.)
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
