Processing of loan
I applied for a personal loan from Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mamzar branch, in May 2011. It was one without a salary transfer loan and the bank asked me to provide a salary certificate for the purpose of the loan.
As per our company policy, they will not provide a salary certificate for the purpose of a loan, because my salary is transferred to another bank. If I transferred my salary to DIB, they would provide the salary certificate. The sales agent asked me to pay Dh425 and proceed with 48 post-dated cheques for my instalment of Dh891. He told me that within three days I would get my cheque for Dh31,500 via courier. However, I didn’t receive it even after three days and then the sales agent called and told me that I was supposed to provide a salary certificate for the loan. I explained our company policy to him, but then he went on vacation.
I went to the branch and talked to the branch manager. He said he didn’t have any authority to approve the loan as it was the head office’s decision.
Finally, I told him if he couldn’t give me a loan he should refund my loan processing fee of Dh425. He told me that his sales agent had gone on vacation and he would return within a week and that he alone knew about my file and asked me to come when he was back.
I went back to the branch when the sales agent had returned from vacation, but their branch manager had gone on vacation and the sales agent asked me to come back when the branch manager had returned from leave. Upon his return, I spoke to him, but he said it was not possible to refund the money to the customer.
My question is why can’t they refund my loan processing fee and return all my post-dated cheques as the loan has not been approved? In June 2011, I talked to DIB customer service and, according to their records, it still shows as “approved”. Can Gulf News help me get back my Dh425?
From Mr Ahmad Arshad Jameel
Dubai
A Dubai Islamic Bank spokesperson responds:
Dubai Islamic Bank’s (DIB) customer support team has been in contact with Mr Jameel to resolve his query. DIB can confirm that Mr Jameel has received a refund for the finance arrangement fee and the matter is now closed.
Mr Jameel responds:
Please be informed that I got my loan processing fee of Dh425 from DIB. I thank Gulf News for solving this problem.
Transaction interrupted
On November 1 at 10.12am I deposited Dh98,000 in Standard Chartered’s cash deposit machine at the Bur Dubai branch. During the confirmation of this process, the machine went down and the security guard, who was very helpful and had seen the whole transaction, asked me to log a complaint with the customer care/telebanking service.
They confirmed the amount was not credited in the account and the complaint was logged around 10.30am on the same day. I explained to the person who attended the line the urgency of the matter and that I had a cheque coming into the account the same day which is why I had deposited the amount in the morning.
The person supposedly understood the urgency and said someone would call me back the same day.
A day passed and I had convinced the person, to whom I had given the cheque, to hold it for a day or two. At 4.30pm on November 2, I called the bank once more and asked them why my money was not credited and why no one had called me, even after 24 hours. The person at the other end had no idea and said that he would send an e-mail.
At that point I wanted to speak to a supervisor or manager and was informed that there were no supervisors or managers available and that a request would take 24 to 48 hours to get a call back from a supervisor. After a lot of talk with the representative he finally agreed to have his supervisor call me. As of now no one has called.
Due to the Eid holidays the bank was closed and I did not have access to my money. Why this whole scenario appalled me was because I had access to the person that I had given the cheque to and was able to convince him to hold it, but if I hadn’t, who would be liable for my reputation and financial loss?
I could even have a police case filed against me. What if he had deposited the cheque and it bounced, even though I had deposited the amount well in advance?
I would really appreciate it if Gulf News could intervene and help resolve this issue.
From Ms Nikil Vinayakrishnan
Sharjah
The management of Standard Chartered Bank responds:
I am glad to inform you that the funds of Dh98,000 were credited to the customer’s account on November 3, 2011.
The case is therefore closed.
Ms Vinayakrishnan responds:
I was informed that the money was credited after three days. It just fails me that no one has taken accountability for my money being in limbo for three days and not even an apology for failed commitments from Standard Chartered’s side in the form of a courtesy call.
Account closure
I went to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) Hor Al Anz/Mamzar branch and asked to close my account. They said I needed to pay a Dh75 penalty and then I had to fill in the cancellation form. It was at this time I met the manager and he said I didn’t need to close the account because if I kept Dh1,000 I wouldn’t be charged any fees. He was aware that the account had been inactive for years. He also said that if there was any charge I could reverse it. So, I deposited Dh1,100.
On the second day when I visited the same branch I found that all my money, Dh1,175, had been charged with fees and that only Dh75 was left.
The branch manager assured me that he would look into this and said that I would get the money back within a week. He also said that he had a customer with the same issue and that he had reversed the fees charged to the account.
Since then I have been visiting the branch manager. Last month he asked me to go to the branch where I had opened the account, which is the Corniche branch in Abu Dhabi.
I went there and met the branch manager. He said he couldn’t take the decision and he asked the manager in charge of the customer division to look into my issue and draft a letter to the higher management.
Till now I have not received any comments and my money is gone due to the charges, which I am sure is not proper. I request Gulf News to please take an initiative in this case and resolve it.
From Mr Giju George Vattoly
Dubai
The management of NBAD responds:
Kindly note that customer’s complaint was resolved and he was contacted and informed with action.
Mr Vattoly responds:
Thank you Gulf News for the follow up. The bank reversed the charges. I spoke to the NBAD manager at the Abu Dhabi Corniche branch and he said he was aware of the charges and would reverse this amount.
Additionally, there would be no charges if I maintained Dh1,000 monthly. I then went to the Hor Al Anz branch and the manager advised me to take my money and to close the account.
Now I have opened a new current account with NBAD at the Hor Al Anz branch. Once again thank you Gulf News for the support and wish you to be on the side of the needy all through your journey.
Missing miles
I have a Citibank gold credit card. I paid Dh7,585 to Emaar Properties on July 8, 2011. However, I have not received any Emirates Skywards miles for this transaction.
I have called the call centre numerous times over the last three months, and they said they were aware and were looking into it, but no resolution yet.
Recently they told me that my complaint had been closed because I was expected to receive only 50 per cent of the miles as it was a real estate transaction.
However, when I told them that I had not received even that 50 per cent, they had no answer. Gulf News, please help resolve this issue.
From Mr Avinash Mathur
Dubai
The management of Citibank responds:
This case stands resolved as all Skywards miles have now been transferred, and the customer has been duly informed. The delay was a general technical issue, which we have now tackled.
Mr Mathur responds:
Thanks for your help Gulf News. My issue has been addressed by Citibank.
