I was in need of funds and approached an FGB sales representative for a personal loan. He kept on telling me that it was a personal loan, but actually, it was a different product and he hid this from me.
Even when I received the confirmation call, I refused to accept it, because the call centre agent told me that it was a credit card. After that, he called me and told me that it was a loan. Neither did the sales representative nor the call centre agent try to explain to me that this was not a personal loan or clarify what makes it different from a personal loan. Had they explained it to me, I would have said a straight ‘no’ to this product.
Now, when I am planning to foreclose the loan, they are asking for about 60 per cent, along with the outstanding principal amount. Now, everyone is trying to explain to me that it’s not a personal loan. It is a different product, for which, I will have to pay them all outstanding instalments. I am paying them approximately Dh2,290 monthly and 45 months are left, so I will have to pay Dh103,500, when actually, the loan was for Dh67,500.
I got to know about this mess only when I received the liability letter, which I requested from the bank to do the foreclosure. I was shocked. I called the sales representative and explained the situation. At that very moment, he started to mock me by saying and I quote: “You were asking for a loan. Now you have it, so keep it.” I wonder if this is what they train their agents to say. He shouted at me saying he didn’t remember all the details and said I should contact the call centre. I contacted them and lodged a complaint.
This is totally inhumane and seems like cheating. Just to meet their targets, they are cheating people by hiding complete information and many of the call centre agents twist their words and hide the facts.
Now, if I am to foreclose the loan, they are asking me to pay more than Dh100,000 whereas they extended a loan of only Dh67,500. This is insane. It seems it is going to impact my future plans, as well as have an impact on my family.
Meanwhile, I received a call from FGB against the complaint I lodged at their call centre. The sales representative refused to accept that he hid the facts regarding the foreclosure, and the bank is considering his response as final. In addition to that, they blamed me, saying I could have asked about it in the confirmation call. I explained to them that while this sales representative was selling the product, I asked all the relevant questions, to which he had already responded. He hid the fact about foreclosure even when I mentioned to him that I would foreclose the loan as soon as I am in a position to arrange funds.
After all the discussions with the agent, it was pointless discussing the same things again and again in a confirmation call. Everyone knows that the tone of such confirmation calls is never inquisitive on any side — rather, these are affirmative calls that confirm what you applied for is approved at a certain interest rate with a certain monthly instalment. I called back to get the status after receiving a message, and was guided to send an email to them with complete details.
For their sales representative, this was just a file related to a target of the month. For me it was all about my future plans, which are now in great trouble.
From Mr Mohammad Talha Moin
Sharjah
The management of FGB responds:
FGB is grateful for all customer feedback to which we give careful consideration as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. FGB met with Mr Moin on a number of occasions and explained the terms and conditions of the loan in detail, which he agreed to. Subsequently, the loan was processed.
Mr Moin responds:
No, despite asking multiple times, the sales person did not tell me about the foreclosure conditions. He hid the fact and later on, told lies to his management and to me, by stating that he had informed me about the foreclosure conditions.
The management of FGB responds:
FGB is grateful for all customer feedback to which we give careful consideration as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Moin, and the matter has been resolved.
(Process initiation: July 27. Response from organisation: August 2. Reader confirmation: August 24.)
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.
