'I was charged Dh550 on "Free for Life" credit card'

Still waiting

I got a credit card from First Gulf bank (FGB) two years ago under a marketing campaign slogan: “Free for Life”. I was informed by the salesperson that this was a limited offer and by applying for the credit card with him, I would not have to pay annual fees. All I would need to do is fill a form, sign it and return it to him, and he would activate the offer for me.

I applied for the card but the salesperson never showed up to bring the form and stopped answered my calls. I raised a complaint at the time with FGB, and was contacted by the bank on June 26, 2012. They sent me the form by email and asked me to sign it and send it back, which I have done. That was two years ago. The issue was raised and closed.

Now, I received a bank statement with Dh550 charged to my card as card renewal fees! I contacted the bank’s call centre a few times to register a complaint but they said they had nothing called ‘complaints’. They could only open a ‘service request’ with the case details.

I opened two cases with them and both were closed without any action taken from the bank. In both cases, I was contacted by salespersons trying to sell me bank services and products in order to waive the fees, even though I tried to explain that I was not requesting to waive the fees, and that it was a mistake that they needed to rectify.

They referred me back to the call centre to register a complaint, which they refused to do. I even asked to speak to a supervisor but failed to do so as he was busy on a call. I was told he would call me back but he never did.

It is very frustrating to get such service.

From Mr Hazim Zahran, Dubai

The management of First Gulf Bank responds:

We are committed to providing the best possible service to our customers and value their feedback. The bank has looked into the matter and Mr Zahran has been informed that the annual membership fees have been reversed. The customer’s credit card is ‘free for life’ and he will not be charged for renewal fees in the future.

Mr Zahran responds:

Many thanks for resolving my complaint. I would like to confirm that the bank has contacted me and rectified both problems. Firstly, they have reversed the annual fee, and secondly, they have sent me a confirmation email that the card is free for life. I cannot thank Gulf News enough for their assistance and for the care taken to resolve readers’ issues.

Faulty billing

In March, I shifted from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi and transferred my eLife connection. After shifting, I raised three complaints with etisalat regarding my billing issues and have been trying to get it sorted since then.

First, I purchased a wireless router when I subscribed for my eLife connection in Sharjah, which included paying Dh20 per month for one year, till March 2013. However, that charge was still ongoing, as seen in the invoice for March. When I shifted to Abu Dhabi, I took the router and connected it with the new connection. However, etisalat still charged me for a new wireless router in April’s invoice. They accepted my complaints and I was told to get a total refund of Dh603.33 and that it would reflect in May’s invoice.

Then, I made a call to their customer care on June 24 to follow up on the refund and was told that the approval had been rejected and that the complaint had been closed from their side. So, I filed a new complaint.

Secondly, I have subscribed to the ‘one fils per second’ plan from etisalat by paying a monthly subscription fee of Dh39. However, my international calls were charged as per the normal rates, applicable to that specific country. Initially, I filed a complaint by the end of March, but the call centre people were not ready to register the complaint, claiming that it can be registered against the invoice number (the invoice was not generated during that time). So, I filed the complaint on April 15 after receiving the invoice. They continued charging me the normal rates till May 24 and after that they started charging according to the correct plan. As per the calls I made, I have to receive a total refund of Dh987.27 for over billing on international calls.

Thirdly, before transferring my connection from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi, I visited Sharjah Business Centre to return my TV set top box. Although, I cleared all pending dues on the account, I am still receiving invoices for the same account and not just one but two invoices per month, claiming different amounts. Since Gulf News is actively involved in sorting out readers’ issues, I kindly request you to support me in getting the refund.

From Mr Sreejith Kodakkal, Abu Dhabi

The management of etisalat responds:

Kindly note that the customer’s issue was resolved.

Mr Kodakkal responds:

The matter has been resolved and the amount has been refunded.

Waive off finance charges

I have been using RAKBANK credit card for the past eight years, and I am so prompt in paying the entire amount due before the due date. My usage for the month of May was Dh5,300 against which, I paid Dh5,100 (I overlooked the amount as Dh5,100) leaving behind Dh200. When I received the June statement, an amount of Dh214.49 had been charged as Finance Charges. When I contacted the call centre, they were not ready to take the complaint, and advised that the said amount was charged for the entire period from May to June, and not for the balance amount of Dh200. Point to be noted is that my credit card had a credit balance of Dh337 as Cashback amount in my favour. My request is to waive off the Finance Charge. Thank you in advance for taking up such requests.

From Mr Tom Varghese, Dubai

Mr Ian Hodges, Head of Personal Banking, RAKBANK, responds:

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to justify our stance on the issues raised by Mr Tom Varghese, RAKBANK customer.

The concerns raised by Mr Varghese have been investigated and we understand that his credit card payment towards his June 2014 statement was short of the total outstanding, due to which Finance Charges were levied on his July statement. Further, we confirm that the client did not place a request for crediting his accumulated Cashback on his Card prior to the statement due date to offset the outstanding amount. Since receipt of your email, we have contacted Mr Varghese and advised him of the reversal of charges being taken forward by the Bank as a service gesture.

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