No sign of transfer

Out of desperation and frustration, I seek Gulf News’ help regarding my issue with Emirates Islamic Bank. I made a transfer to Hong Kong for purchased goods for my customer on February 24, 2016.

Until now, March 24, the funds have neither been transferred nor have they been returned to me. The missing amount is $13,050.00 (Dh47,930) for which, I have had to pay huge demurrage charges for not clearing the cargo, as the funds hadn’t been credited to my supplier’s account, due to which the original documents for clearing the cargo weren’t sent to me.

Every time I approached the bank, they said it would be done, then after two weeks of running from one person to another, they asked me to give in writing that the goods are not for sale in restricted countries, which I did immediately. Even then, there was no sign of my money.

Eventually, I did receive a call and I was told that it would be taken care of immediately, but it has already been 10 days and there is still no sign on my money. The worst is the false promises they make, saying it will be done in a day.

Now, I have asked for my funds to be returned, which also has not been done, since last week. I am told recalling the funds transfer would make me liable to pay the charges and also the currency difference.

Not only am I losing my reputation with my supplier and customer, but I’m paying the late fees in clearing the cargo. Now, they have also charged me‎for a transfer that the bank hasn’t even made.

I request that my issue be taken up or some solution given, as I feel the response from the bank has been unprofessional.

From Mr Mohammad Ebrahim Khan

Dubai

Mr Khan updates:

The bank contacted me and stated that the funds have been credited to my supplier’s account even though I had given in a request to cancel the transfer and return the money, since it took more than three weeks to trace it. I had already made alternative arrangements and paid the supplier. Even then, they still could not get the funds back, until today. Now, I am at the mercy of the supplier to send me my money back, all due to the inefficiency and blunder by the bank.

I have yet to see if they will charge me all the relevant charges when the amount does come back.

If there is anything that Gulf News can do to help me in getting my money back soon, it would be appreciated.

The management of Emirates Islamic Bank responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Khan’s concerns to our attention.

Our customer experience team has been in touch with him and has clarified with him that the Telegraphic Transfer requested by him was correctly actioned by Emirates Islamic, but there was a delay by his beneficiary’s bank in processing the transfer. Our team had updated Mr Khan regarding the delay at the beneficiary bank. Following this and based on Mr Khan’s request, we attempted to recall the transfer. However, the payment had already been processed by the beneficiary bank at that time and we have advised him to request his beneficiary to return the funds due to him.

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the best in customer service to all our clients.

Mr Khan responds:

I still have not received my amount and now, I will have to send someone to the supplier to sort out the issue and convince the supplier to return the amount as soon as possible. In short, I don’t think Emirates Islamic can undo the blunder they have committed. Moreover, I just want to be sure they pay for all the transaction charges without any deductions for transfer and recall.

Mr Khan updates:

This is to inform Gulf News that I have received my money finally, after two months, but they have deducted Dh800, which is totally unfair, as the double transfer was due to their negligence.

Now, they fail to respond and keep avoiding my calls. Can anything be done?

The management of Emirates Islamic Bank responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Khan’s concerns to our attention.

We would like to clarify that we have not additionally charged him on the transaction of the telegraphic transfer. The difference in amount that he is seeing is due to an exchange loss that was incurred when the supplier returned the funds to him.

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the best in customer service to all our clients.

(Process initiation: March 27. Response from organisation: April 10. Process completion: May 9.)

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.