I am an investor who purchased over 40 properties in recent years in Dubai.

In April 2013 I bought as investment a villa in Springs by Emaar and rented it. My tenant in getting a Dewa connectionwas forced to pay a Dh2,605 debt of a tenant from 2009, which he obviously deducted from the rent.

There had been various owners and tenants between 2009 and 2013, I visited Dewa headquarters with previous title deeds in hand and a Dewa zero balance receipt from the seller.

Customer service proudly said they had been equipped to detect outstanding amounts only 6 months before, so anybody connecting now would be responsible for older debts contracted by older tenants/owners.

I opened an e-Government complaint.

After one week Dewa called me to visit their headquarters for deliberation on my case. The clerk said Dewa does not refund money! Another clerk accepted my plea and checked the identity of the default payer. I was out of luck, the default payer had fled the country in 2009, so I was dismissed. Dewa closed the case and congratulated me in writing.

I opened four more e-Government complaints. They were all closed with a congratulatory SMS to me.

On the fifth complaint Dewa summoned me again in person. The employee said they could not refund me, because I had not registered as Dewa customer for this property. I explained I was the investor, showed them the rental contract and that my tenant was registered and paying Dewa bills.

Dewa said they closed my case because they did not have my credit card to refund me since I wasn’t registered. However they didn’t accept the credit card I was handing them as it was too late, Dewa had already collected my money! No refunds possible as per their rules.

July 2013 I hand delivered plus couriered the whole file to the manager of Dewa Legal Department. To date, many months later, no reply. Dewa can refund me by cheque since they don’t have my credit card.

From Mr Olivier Narboni

Dubai

A representative from Dewa responds: Thank you for your email. With regards to your query, kindly be informed that your request has been escalated to our management and they shall contact you for any further feedback.

Mr Narboni responds: I refer to our tele-conversation of March 17, during which you updated me on Dewa having informed you that they had escalated my subject to their management.

May I kindly ask you, if appropriate, that you follow up with them to check on the timeline for their reply? I shall await your update.

Editor’s note: Despite repeated reminders, Dewa did not send us the outcome of their investigation.

(Process initiation: March 10. Response from organisation: March 11. Process completed: May 12.)

Wasted time

Every month I am delegated to go to Emirates NBD, Nad Al Sheba branch to deliver the documents for salary to the Wages Protection System (WPS) section. I have noticed that the person at the counter (which is handled by a courier agency) is never on time. We are around five to seven people every month waiting and the person arrives at his own sweet time. The customer service staff at the Emirates NBD counter is not at all co-operative for the same and they say that they do not have the contact number of the courier staff and do not even bother to help us. I wanted to highlight this issue because this is always happening and it is not only me but many people who have to waste their valuable time waiting for the irresponsible staff member. I would like Gulf News to highlight this issue to Emirates NBD to find a solution for the same.

From Mr Ajeet Kumar Pillai

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 Pillai and has resolved the matter to his satisfaction.

We wish to confirm that our team looked into Mr Pillai’s concerns and have taken the necessary measures to avoid re-occurrence of the same incident in future.

We would like to thank you for your continuous support in offering us the opportunity to further assist our valued customers.

Mr Pillai responds: Yes, I confirm that the issue is resolved.

(Process initiation: June 18. Response from organisation: June 29. Reader confirmation: July 9.)

Missing stars

I would like to complain against National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) through Gulf News to resolve my issue. I am fed up of calling NBAD telephone banking 8002211 without even getting a courtesy call from them.

I have two credit cards (one normal, another Gems) on which whatever I am spending I am getting NBAD stars as rewards, both statements show a total of 351,422 stars. The online statement of stars shows only 137,467 stars. There is a huge gap of 213,955 stars I am suppose to be credited.

I have put up a request with NBAD. After a few days I have put up a complaint with NBAD. Every time I call NBAD telephone banking service they assure me that I will receive a call regarding resolution for the same but it never happens. I called NBAD in April then followed up in May and finally put a request and then complaint, but never received a call. I request Gulf News to resolve this issue, which frustrates me a lot.

From Mr Ghouse Mohiuddin

Dubai

The management of National Bank of Abu Dhabi responds: We are pleased to inform Gulf News that we have contacted Mr Ghouse Mohiuddin and resolved his complaint.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Gulf News and the customer for providing us with feedback and regret the inconvenience caused.

Thank you once again for your continuous support and valued efforts.

Mr Mohiuddin responds: I am very delighted to receive my NBAD stars from NBAD. On seeking Gulf News’ intervention within a few days action has been taken by NBAD. I sincerely thank Gulf News for all their efforts and professional intervention in this matter to be resolved very fast. Thank you again.

(Process initiation: July 1. Response from organisation: July 3. Reader confirmation: July 6.)

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.