Loyalty Cashback programme
I have got a RAKBANK Titanium credit card, which is given as a privilege card to customers. They have a loyalty programme of Cashback on the card, which is from one per cent to three per cent. I have been using the credit card in the past 12 months and I get back my loyalty Cashback every month, depending on the slabs.
In May, I used the limit as per the three per cent slab, but to my surprise, was given credit for two per cent only. When I contacted the call centre, they told me I had made a transaction on the last day and the money was not taken by the merchant because of which, the credit was not given. Because of this, I lost credit of Dh400. The amount required for three per cent slab was Dh1,500. I used it for Dh4,000 so I could clear my slab, but despite that, lost Dh400.
My question is — during the past 12 months I have made transactions on the last day and it has always reflected in my statement, so why not this time?
Again, once I have paid the amount, the credit limit is already reduced from my account but for other benefits it is not given to the customer. I have closed my other cards to use my RAKBANK card because of its benefits. Now with this incident, how do I know this will not happen in the future?
I request Gulf News to take this issue ahead and help me to sort this matter with RAKBANK.
From Mr Pankaj Agarwal
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 Agarwal, RAKBANK customer.
The concerns raised by Mr Agarwal have been reviewed and we understand that the customer is contesting the Cashback earned on his credit card in his June 2014 statement. The customer has earned Cashback based on his eligibility as specified in our Credit Card Agreement. Further, please note that transaction date and billing date of credit card transactions might differ depending on when the transaction is claimed by the Merchant’s Bank.
Since receipt of Gulf News’ email, we have attempted to contact Mr Agarwal and understand that he is travelling. We have spoken to his office and have advised them to call our senior complaints officer on his return.
RAKBANK updates: Further to our response, please note that we have contacted Mr Agarwal and clarified the bank’s stance on Cashback computation.
(Process initiation: July 20. Response from organisation: July 22. Process completion: July 23.)
Disparity in miles
I purchased a ticket from Emirates online, where the route was mentioned along with the Skywards miles that I would be earning on the trip. At the end of this trip, I realised that my miles were missing. As per my ticket, I was supposed to get 52,250 Skywards miles and 38,250 Tiers miles. But they credited 46,350 Skywards miles and 37,500 Tiers miles. They confirmed one thing at the beginning of the purchase and credited a different amount in the end. It seemed to be really misleading.
From Mr Julio Martin
Dubai
A spokesperson from Emirates airlines responds:
Skywards is reaching out directly to the member to clarify. This is what our investigation brought up: Mr Martin’s original ticket was issued on March 20, 2014 for Colombo to Los Angeles/return via emirates.com. He was logged into the webpage as a Skywards member, therefore he could view the accelerator bonus Miles for his journey.
Mr Martin flew the Colombo to Dubai flight and then exchanged the rest of his ticket as he changed his travel from Dubai to Los Angeles to Dubai to San Francisco. The new ticket was issued with a different ticket number on March 28. This was however done offline through an Emirates office.
The conditions for the Miles Accelerator are that the tickets must be issued online as well as the member must register the ticket number in order to get the bonus Miles. Therefore, this leg of his flight unfortunately did not qualify for the bonus Miles and Emirates Skywards could not credit Mr Martin the extra Miles.
The information about the terms and conditions for the accelerator is available online and can be found by members under the Miles Accelerator.
Mr Martin responds:
Thanks for the update.
(Process initiation: June 19. Response from organisation: July 21. Reader confirmation: July 26.)
Optional upgrade?
I got a call from etisalat that all systems users need to be upgraded and due to that, my monthly bill would be increased. I asked the representative if it was optional or mandatory. She said it was mandatory. So I agreed to the upgrade.
After five minutes, I got another call from etisalat for a confirmation of my request. I asked the same quesiton: whether it was optional. The representative in this case said yes it was up to me. So I said I did not want it.
The next day, I got a call from an etisalat technician who was waiting outside my flat for an upgrade of the system. I said I never requested for it. He said okay and went away. To my surprise, I received a Dh100 charge in my bill even though we didn’t go through with the upgrade.
I called etisalat and told them the whole story. I was told they were looking into my request and that I would get the update within seven days, but I didn’t get any call. Since then, I called nine different times and talked to nine different people. It took three months but my query to reverse or cancel Dh100 was never resolved and in the end, I had to pay. It’s not about Dh100, but about the service to customers.
From Mr Sa’ad Ahmad
Dubai
The management of etisalat responds:
Kindly note that after listening to customer (confirmation) calls with our sales team, our sales representative explained everything to him and told him that if he wanted to cancel the request, it must be done before the technician’s visit or he would be charged Dh100. The customer accepted this and the sale, saying not to cancel it, as it was explained through email. The technician visited him as he did not cancel the request.
The customer was refunded Dh100 for customer satisfaction. An SMS was sent to inform him.
Mr Ahmad responds:
Thanks for Gulf News’ interest in my complaint. I have got a text from etisalat saying the Dh100 has been credited to my account.
(Process initiation: July 10. Response from organisation: July 22. Reader confirmation: July 23.)
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.
