No points
I would like to bring to Gulf News’ notice an issue regarding the credit of Mashreq’s etisalat points. Mashreq bank had a promotion of double points in the month of October 2013, which I had subscribed to, through SMS. I called their call centre and they confirmed that the promotion was active.
When I didn’t receive the double points in the November 2013 statement, I sent them an email with details and they said it would be credited by December.
I called them again in January and followed up every month since then, but without any success. Every time I called the call centre, they asked me for details and then after a few days, someone from the bank would call me and I would once again have to explain. The cycle continues.
I would appreciate a proper response from Mashreq.
From Mr Ozwald D’Mello, Dubai
The management of Mashreq responds:
Thank you for sharing Mr D’Mello’s letter with us.
Our investigation reveals that Mr D’Mello raised a concern in November 2013 regarding the double points promotion and we have informed our customer that the fulfilment of the promotion will take place in December 2013. Mr D’Mello contacted us again in April 2014 for the same concern, following which, we have tried to get in touch with him over several occasions, but were not successful. As per the terms and conditions of the promotion, Mr D’Mello is not entitled for the double points. We have communicated the same to Mr D’Mello and he agreed to it.
Thank you for seeking clarification.
Mr D’Mello responds:
Thank you for the follow up. After Gulf News contacted Mashreq, I got a call from one of their representatives and they have offered me a Festival City gift voucher for the inconvenience. I appreciate the newspaper’s assistance in sorting out this issue with Mashreq in such a short while.
(Process initiation: July 30. Response from organisation: August 3. Reader confirmation: August 11.)
Message received?
I have a problem with du. I have been receiving several messages of promotional offers from du on my mobile phone
One such message On June 9 was as follows: “Hi! You have been selected for a special offer. Recharge Dh200 within the next 4 days and get 60 international minutes for FREE! Bonus valid for 7 days. Only from Du!”
These messages went on for the next three days until the offer expired.
I recharged Dh200 immediately, as I was told time is running out. But to my surprise, I did not get the 60 international minutes free, as was promised.
When contacted (after a long wait of 20-30 minutes on the phone), I spoke with a representative who asked me whether I had received an SMS. I answered, yes. He then put me on hold to verify, and then told me I could not avail the free offer because I had sent in two vouchers.
I told him this was not mentioned in any of the four text messages that du had sent. The line got disconnected.
I tried du again. After a considerable amount of time, the same story repeated itself. I registered a complaint with them and got a reference number.
A few days later, I received a message saying the complaint was processed successfully! Please help.
From Mr Bilaluddin Mohammad Shabbar, Dubai
The management of du responds:
With reference to Mr Shabbar’s query, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would like to clarify that even though we send multiple reminders on an offer, customers can avail the bonus talk time only once. Multiple recharges are not allowed for receiving the bonus talktime. We are in touch with the customer to further explain the offer to him.
Mr Shabbar responds:
Thank you Gulf News, for the intervention. I am not satisfied with their response.
The reply from du management is clear about availing the bonus offer talktime only once. But my issue is not about availing this offer once, twice or thrice.
I did not get my bonus talktime even after paying Dh200! The staff members told me that I should deposit a one-time recharge of Dh200, which they have not mentioned in any of their offers as of date.
The management of du responds:
In response to the issue raised by Mr Shabbar, we have investigated and then called back the customer to explain the details to his satisfaction. The issue is now closed. We are available for any further support in future.
Mr Shabbar responds:
Yes, du’s staff called and informed me that they have credited the free international minutes into my account.
I have informed them that it would have been better had the same information been given on the day the amount was credited. I also thanked them and suggested that they urge the relevant people to be very clear in all the messages being sent to customers, to avoid similar issues in the future. All my issues have now been resolved. Once again, thank you Gulf News.
Charges for telegraphic transfer
I would like to bring to your notice that an amount of Dh930 was deducted from my account as currency exchange charge for a failed telegraphic transfer.
On August 3, I made a telegraphic transfer for Rs500,000 (approximately Dh30,220) from my Emirates NBD account to a beneficiary account with all required entries (Account no, IFS Code, Name, Address, Swift Code, and so on). After three days, when the beneficiary did not get the money, I checked with the customer service, only to discover that the ‘transfer of amount was not done’ due to a missing Indian Financial System (IFS) Code. I was told the amount would be refunded to my account.
When I asked the customer service whether there would be any deduction from the amount on grounds of failed transaction or charges, I was assured that ‘there will not be any deduction’ from the said amount.
On August 12, an amount of Dh29,290 was debited into my account with a deduction of Dh930. When I checked with the customer service, I was told the charges are due to the deduction of currency exchange.
Kindly take this matter seriously as I don’t want anybody to suffer due to inappropriate charges.
From Mr Khalid Amanulla, Dubai
The management of Emirates NBD responds:
We are pleased to inform you that our Group Customer Experience team has been in touch with Mr Amanulla and has provided him with the necessary clarifications relating to the exchange rate charges applied on his account during his telegraphic transfer.
Furthermore, we wish to confirm that our team looked into Mr Amanulla’s concerns and granted him, on exceptional basis, a partial refund of the disputed amount will be credited back to his account. He has been contacted and informed accordingly.
We would like to thank you for your continuous support in offering us the opportunity to further assist our valued customers.
Mr Amanulla responds:
With the prompt support provided by Gulf News, the bank has agreed to reverse an amount of Dh650. I thank Gulf News.
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
