I’ve been talking to Emirates NBD about a fine I was unfairly given for over three months, with no result.

I used to have a current account with Emirates NBD, which I opened at their Internet City branch and closed in June 2008 at their Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza) branch. I also surrendered my debit card to them at that time.

However, in January 2013, after four and a half years, I received an email stating the e-statement for my account was attached.

I was very surprised to receive this e-mail, as I had not received any communication from the bank through text messaging, the phone, email or account statements since closing the account.

Since receiving the email I have been in constant contact with the Emirates NBD customer service in both the Dafza and Internet City branch.

They told me that my account is in a dormant state and that I will have to pay a fine of Dh1,800 initially, which they revised to Dh900 finally in order to close the account.

I have undergone mental agony and spent a lot of time and effort visiting the Internet City branch twice and their Dafza branch four times, speaking to their customer care representatives and sending large explanatory emails to their complaints section explaining that the error was on their side. However, they insist that I must still pay the fine.

I’ve been fighting for a principal and hence did not want to pay the fine as it was incorrect to charge a customer for the bank’s mistake.

Now, having exhausted all avenues, I would request Gulf News help me with this matter. It would also serve as a wake-up call for others to take care and demand some proof of closure of their bank accounts, lest they too have to undergo the troubles I’ve been facing.

From Ms Sujatha Nagarajan

Dubai

The management at Emirates NBD responds:

We are pleased to inform you that our Group Customer Experience team has been in touch with Ms Sujatha Nagarajan and resolved the matter to her satisfaction.

We would like to clarify that Ms Nagarajan’s account is a salary transfer account. As per the terms and conditions of a payroll/salary account opening, monthly relationship maintenance fees are charged during the period where no salary is transferred to the account. In this case, there was no salary transferred to Ms Nagarajan’s account for more than four years, making the account maintenance fees duly applicable as per our schedule of charges. Moreover, since no financial transactions were performed for an extended period of time, the account’s status changed to dormant.

As a gesture of goodwill, Emirates NBD has decided to exceptionally waive the relationship fees applied on the account and our dedicated team is assisting Ms Nagarajan with the account closure procedure.

We would like to thank Gulf News for providing us with the opportunity to resolve our customer’s issue. Many thanks for your continued support and valued efforts.

Ms Sujatha Nagarajan responds:

I received a call from Emirates NBD saying that they are waiving all the maintenance fees and other charges accumulated on my account and are closing it. I thank the management of Emirates NBD bank for their goodwill gesture.

I also thank Gulf News for their intervention and help, without which I may have still been searching for closure on this subject.

Editor’s Note: If you have a similar unresolved consumer complaint, please raise it with us at readers@gulfnews.com and we might be able to help you seek a resolution.