Looking for answers

I am holding a First Gulf Bank (FGB) credit card. Although the agent at the time of completing the credit card application was clearly advised that I did not want credit shield, the statement received included the unauthorised insurance charges (credit shield and accident insurance). This was immediately brought to the attention of the call centre representative, who was rude and unprofessional, and declined to entertain my request for a reversal of the unauthorised charges.

On March 16, I received my monthly statement and to my dismay, there were two charges posted on February 27 for valet parking dating as far back as June 2013 for Dh180 and October 2013 for Dh70. I called the call centre number and after 45 minutes of waiting, I was disconnected. My second attempt took me back to the start and after another 45 minutes I finally managed to speak to a human being and seek clarification, but once again, the agent was of little help.

I then made it to the FGB station branch on Shaikh Zayed Road. Here again the customer relations officer was of no help. When queried about the posting, he said that he could not help and that I had to go to the main branch in Deira. When asked for the contact number of the credit card manager, he declined. When asked how can this be issued, he stated: “I don’t know”. All he said was that I had to make the payment.

When I said that I was willing to pay by cheque and it would be dated June 2013, the officer quickly declined saying: “They cannot accept the cheque dated June 2013 as it was stale.” Yet, the bank charged me for a free valet service, as per their terms and conditions, dating back to June 2013.

Finally, after a whole lot of deliberation and raising my voice, I was directed to speak with the assistant branch manager, who was courteous and she assured us that somebody from the head office credit card department would be calling me to help.

The next day, I received a call from the bank. But this joy was short-lived, as the call was once again from a call centre agent. The agent was just blunt and stated that I had no option but to make the payment.

FGB is expected to follow a certain code of conduct. Transparency and the need for customers to be informed in a clear way should be a priority. The bank must treat its customers fairly. In this situation, the bank failed to exercise these values.

I seek Gulf News’ assistance in this issue and hope the newspaper will help consumers like us to be aware of such matters.

From Ms Sharon Miranda

Dubai

The management of First Gulf Bank responds:

We take all of our customers’ feedback into careful consideration and work hard to ensure that we consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Ms Miranda to discuss the matter and has reached the following conclusion:

The customer was sent e-statements from the time when the card was first activated in June 2013. These clearly stated the insurance charges each month until they were cancelled in September at the customer’s request. Ms Miranda was charged for only one month of charges. The valet parking charges were debited in February 2014 due to minimum spend criteria not being met in June and October 2013, which is a base requirement for the service. FGB is therefore unable to reverse any charges on the card. The bank has however provided the customer with usage offers in lieu of reversals, as a gesture of goodwill.

(Process initiation: June 19. Response from organisation: June 30.)

Request for refund

My wife took an etisalat connection on February 19. I recharged it for Dh20. After three or four days the balance became zero. I again recharged it for Dh30. After four or five days the balance became zero again.

When I checked with etisalat, they informed that the balance was deducted due to some international SMS sent from this number. But we haven‘t made any call or sent any SMS from the number. However, they did not believe that.

I then requested about the details of the SMS, but they were not ready to provide any details. Could you please help me get a refund of Dh50 spent on this number?

From Mr Stain Joseph

Abu Dhabi

The management of etisalat responds:

Kindly note that the customer’s issue was resolved.

Mr Joseph responds:

Thank you for following up on my case. I got a call from etisalat. They said that they are unable to extract details of my number since the SMS was sent one month ago. They have given me the offer that Dh150 will be credited to my number from which I can use Dh50 per month for three months. They have credited the amount, and I now use it for calling.

(Process initiation: May 7. Response from organisation: June 12. Reader confirmation: July 1.)

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.