Dubai: It was about five years ago when M.A., an expatriate in Dubai, redeemed all his National Bonds certificates and requested to have his account closed. He has never touched it since and assumed it was closed for good, until 2018 rolled around.
Last February, he got an email out of the blue saying that a Dh21 monthly fee has been charged to his account because his balance has fallen below the minimum requirement of Dh3,000. A similar notification was sent again in March, which means he has so far accrued Dh42 in fees in two months.
“I bought National Bonds in 2010 and withdrew all in 2013. After five years, they will charge me this,” the expatriate from the Philippines said.
There is only one possible explanation for this, M.A. thought, and it’s that with the introduction of VAT in January, all the accounts – including inactive ones – are getting charged below-the-minimum balance fee.
But unfortunately, M.A. could not confirm that because after repeated calls and emails, he hasn’t heard back from National Bonds yet. He’s also unable to log into his account online, if it still does exist, since he has forgotten his password.
When contacted by Gulf News, National Bonds said it is not in a position to comment on individual cases. However, the company maintained that customers are not supposed to accrue any below-minimum-balance fees if the account is idle or empty, or they have signed up to save a fixed amount each month.
“Under no circumstances is a customer charged if there are no funds in his/ her account, or if the account is no longer active,” the company said in a statement.
Customers would also do well to ensure that, if they wish to opt out and close their account, there is absolutely zero funds left, because even balances of under Dh100 in accounts left idle for years can cost them dearly over the long term.
“It is important to point out, National Bonds do not charge customers if there are no funds in his/her account or if the account is no longer active.
Bondholders are subject to fee to encourage them to top up their accounts. This does not apply to customers who have signed up to save a regularly a fixed amount each month.”
To ensure their account is closed properly and that there are no funds left in the account, customers are best advised to speak to the customer service staff. They will then be told to redeem all the bond certificates first and then make a proper request to close their account at the National Bonds head office by filling out a form.
