Readers’ issues resolved

Waiting for bonus
I had signed up for a Citibank Premium Miles Platinum card in July 2011. They had a promotion running at that time offering a bonus of 20,000 Premium Miles, which would be credited on the payment of an annual fee of Dh750. The payment was made on July 30, 2011, against the first statement and subsequently I called up the call centre to enquire about the credit of bonus miles. I was told by the agent that the bonus miles would appear in the next statement. Since then, three more statement cycles have passed, but the credit has not happened yet. Each time I receive the statement, I enquire with the call centre and the reply I get is that it will be credited and appear in the next statement.
In November, 2011, I insisted on action and told them that it was the fourth time I was calling for the bonus miles credit. The agent told me that he would enquire and call me in 3-4 working days. I have yet to hear from him. Also, there’s been no email from him. I guess there is a serious lack of customer service and promptness. I urge Gulf News to intervene and raise the matter.
From Ms Joykutty Daniel
Abu Dhabi

The management of Citibank responds:
Many thanks for taking the time to address our customers’ issues. Kindly be assured that Ms Daniel’s inquiry has been fully addressed and all pending issues resolved, with the crediting of bonus miles. Ms Daniel has also been duly notified, and we expressed our regret for the delay in crediting the miles. She is satisfied with the resolution.

Ms Daniel responds:
Yes, I have got the credit of 20,000 Premium miles. I thank Gulf News for their intervention which helped resolve the issue.

Cash back offer
I have an etisalat-Mashreq gold card. I got an email from them on August 15, 2011, stating I was eligible for a five per cent extra cash back for a period of three months from August 1 to October 31. Based on their email, I had applied for a supplementary card and started spending on both cards. After one month, I received another mail about a promotion offering 3+3 per cent cash back — 3 per cent for spending and 3 per cent for credit transfers. I didn’t give any importance to that email, because Mashreq was running different promotions at the same time. I thought they were talking about six per cent, and I was not eligible for that. I also got confirmation from their call centre that if I had an email from Mashreq about 5 per cent I would be eligible for that.

After one month, I got another email about the 3+3 per cent cash back offer. So again I tried to contact their customer service and lodged a complaint and on October 25, at 5pm, they confirmed officially that it was a mistake from their side and that I was only eligible for 3 per cent cash back, and at that time there was only five days until the end of the offer.

I filed many complaints with them and later they offered me 5 per cent for the first month and 3 per cent for the other two months. I don’t accept this offer. How can this approach be justified? They have to pay for their mistake, not me.

I was not expecting such mistakes from a reputed bank like Mashreq. Why should I lose money because of their mistake? Or is this the bank’s policy to improve business? I am looking for a positive response from the bank through Gulf News. I hope Gulf News can help me in this regard.
From Mr Jismin Poulose
Dubai

The management of Mashreq responds:
Thank you for sharing Mr Jismin Poulose’s letter with us. We have investigated Mr Poulose’s concern and it revealed that an erroneous communication was shared about the 3 months promotion period of Shop & Talk stating his eligibility for 5 per cent talk time, while he was only entitled for 3 per cent talk time.
Initially, we have given the first month as 5 per cent fulfilment and are pleased to share that it will continue for the second and third month. We have communicated the same with Mr Poulose and he was satisfied with our resolution. Thank you for bringing this to our notice and for seeking clarification.

Mr Poulose responds:
Thank you very much for your intervention. My issue has been resolved.

Editor’s note: If you have similar consumer complaints and wish to raise them with the newspaper, write to us via email at readers@gulfnews.com