I have been struggling with Mashreq Bank for almost four years. I have tried all possible communication channels to resolve my issue, however, have received no response, and I am worried that one day, this issue is going to turn into a nightmare for me.

I used to be a customer of Mashreq Bank four years ago, and held an Air Arabia credit card from Mashreq. When I decided to deal with another bank, due to my new work requirements at the time, I settled whatever outstanding I had via Mashreq’s Jumeirah branch in person (personal loan and credit card). This was either during February or March 2009.

However, after two years of not dealing at all with Mashreq or its credit card, the bank’s collections department started calling me to pay back the card’s outstanding amount. I confirmed to them that I had done it earlier, in 2009, so they checked their system and promised to call me back, since my records didn’t show any outstanding. I called the customer services centre later and they confirmed that I was in the clear.

Suddenly, an outsourced legal company called me on behalf of Mashreq, demanding that I pay Dh6,000 outstanding. I don’t know from where this money came or how my outstanding reached Dh6,000, if my account has been closed and my credit card expired for the past four years. In addition, this company said it couldn’t help with my case and I would have to contact the bank.

I tried to call their collections department, however, received no answer. I am so frustrated and have had enough with the poor customer service from Mashreq. It seems to me that no one can solve this issue. Every time I call, there is a new person on the phone, to whom I need to repeat the entire story. Still, nothing happens and after a month, the calls start again.

The outstanding amount keeps increasing and I don’t know what to do.

From Mr Hamdi Zuhair Aladham

Abu Dhabi

The management of Mashreq Bank responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Aladham’s complaint to our notice.

Mr Aladham has complained with regards to the outstanding on his Air Arabia credit card that reflects on his statement.

Upon investigation we have established that Mr Aladham’s Air Arabia credit was cancelled on September 22, 2011 in our records but since the settlement took place post the next statement’s generation, charges continued to accumulate, resulting in collections call.

We have contacted Mr Aladham, apologised for the inconvenience and explained to him the reason for the collection calls.

We have also written off the accumulated charges to ensure he is not unnecessarily called again. Mr Aladham is satisfied with our resolution.

Thank you once again for seeking our clarification in the matter.

Mr Aladham responds:

Yes, I confirm that Mashreq bank called me and resolved the issue. Thank you, Gulf News.

(Process initiation: January 13. Response from organisation: January 15. Reader response: February 3.)

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.