Waive the charge
I have held a credit card from Mashreq Bank since September 2013.
In my short experience with the bank, I am really satisfied with their services, such as marketing, promotional offers and so on.
Unfortunately, their customer service is very poor as it took 13 days for them to reply when I was trying to get my issue resolved by them. They gave me a negative answer, whereby they offered me 50 per cent of my late fee.
When I received the latest statement of my credit card, it mentioned a late fee of Dh259. When I checked with the bank, they said there was a late payment on my card. As per the statement, the minimum payment due was Dh1,852.26. I cleared the amount before the statement date as two payments. One payment of Dh1,500 was made before the due date (March 14) and the remaining amount of Dh360 was paid before the statement date.
If the reason for the late fee is because of the payment I have made between the due date and statement date, then they have to inform us in advance, as normally, other banks accept payments before the statement date if it is a Balance Transfer installment.
As per my knowledge, we shouldn’t get a late fee if customers have cleared the overdue amount in this way.
When I called Mashreq’s customer service on February 20, a representative said I would receive a reference number within five minutes as an SMS — I didn’t receive it even after 48 hours. I called them again on February 22, and finally got a reference number.
I received the first call from the complaint department on February 23, wherein they offered 50 per cent back, which I was not satisfied with. They then said they would check with the management and took one week to get back with a final call, stating that it was not possible to waive the amount.
In my nine years of experience with banks, I have never faced such issues.
From Mr Abdul Latheef Kuthukallingal
Dubai
The management of Mashreq Bank responds:
We have initiated an investigation and it revealed that our customer, Mr Kuthukallingal, is regularly receiving his e-statements. He had made a payment less than the partial payment due on the card before his due date and the rest was received post the statement due date, therefore a late payment fee was charged. Thank you for seeking clarification.
Mr Kuthukallingal responds:
Thank you for your kind support. I would like to check with Mashreq Bank whether I could get a 50 per cent discount on the late payment fee, as mentioned earlier, in order to close the matter.
The management of Mashreq Bank updates:
As a pure gesture of goodwill, we are pleased to confirm that a 50 per cent Late Payment Fee reversal has taken place and it will reflect on Mr Abdul Latheef’s next credit card statement. Thank you for seeking clarification.
Mr Kuthukallingal updates:
Thanks for your time. Mashreq has already called me and agreed to a 50 per cent discount. I really appreciate the newspaper’s effort and help in this matter.
(This complaint was sent to Gulf News on March 5. Process completed: March 26.)
Some more time please
I have had Dubai First credit cards for at least two years. Recently, I moved to a new company and I had some delayed payments. I explained my situation to the bank many a times and told them about my status.
The bank’s representative used to only give me warnings without understanding my issue. She offered me a chance to pay up until January 27. I told her to keep the deadline as January 31 as my salary would come in on this date. She refused and then submitted the security cheque to the authorities.
I went to the bank and offered to pay six installments to finish the case. They then they asked me for unbelievable things such as:
- I would need to bring a friend to submit a security cheque.
- This friend would need to bring a bank statement going back six months.
- The friend would need to have a minimum Dh10,000 salary.
- I would need to keep seven cheques with the bank.
All this just to resolve my issue! I was trying to reach anyone in the bank in a position to solve the issue but have had no luck. I hope Gulf News will be able to support me.
From Mr Tamer Elsherbini
Dubai
The management of Dubai First responds:
Mr Elsherbini has been an irregular customer for over six months and much before he was changing jobs. Recorded calls show that in the months prior to January 27, he’s made several commitments to pay, which were never fulfilled. Hence the standard procedure for debt collection has been applied and police case has been filed. We’ve been working with the customer since February on several options for restructuring his debt.
Mr Elsherbini responds:
I visited Dubai First recently and had a very productive meeting with the head of collections department. They’ve solved all the pending issues and by next week, I will start the settlement plan. I’m very happy by the support I’ve received, especially from Gulf News.
(This complaint was sent to Gulf News on March 6. Process completed: March 19.)
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
