I received my Standard Chartered card free for the first year. Upon signing up, I was told by their sales representative that I have the option to cancel after the first year.

As I already have a free-for-life card from another bank, I decided to cancel the Standard Chartered card before the annual fee was due.

The process of cancellation was really cumbersome. When I first called them, before the bill was generated, I was told that another team would act on the request.

I received a call after a few days and was offered a 50 per cent discount on the annual fee or had to spend Dh15,000 on the card to retain it. I rejected the offer as it didn’t make sense to pay for a card that I already had for free from another bank.

I was told to pay the dues and call back again to cancel the card. When I called the bank again, they said I would still need to pay the annual fee even if I don’t intend to use the card. I was shocked as I had called and spoken with customer care several times and no one ever said that I would need to pay the annual fees for a card that I don’t plan to use.

Meanwhile, I had to cancel a trip and the airline refunded the amount to my Standard Chartered credit card by mistake. The bank is now holding me hostage for the credit they have in my account and forcing me to pay annual fees despite repeated requests.

The bank should be professional in handling the situation. I have been a good customer and only wanted to cancel because I already have another card. The bank should provide a full refund of the money they have received from the airline and waive off the annual fee.

From Mr Mubir Mohammad

Dubai

The management of Standard Chartered responds:

Upon receiving the complaint, Standard Chartered’s Customer Care Unit contacted the client and informed him of the policy. The annual fees levied on the card are valid as per the terms and conditions of the card that the client has signed and agreed on when acquiring the card. The issue stands resolved from our end.

Mr Mohammad responds:

I wanted to cancel the card as I didn’t see any use of having two cards. The bank delayed in cancelling it. I even offered to pay one month of the annual fees levied since the request. The delay was due to the bank’s policy of not seeing through the cancellation unless one of their team members calls the customer and offers a discount on the annual fees.

Their policy doesn’t consider the customer’s point of view at all. I requested a cancellation before the charges were posted on the account and the bank is forcing me to pay the annual fees.

The management of Standard Chartered responds:

The issue stands resolved from our end.

(Process initiation: July 24. Response from organisation: July 27. Process completion: August 6.)

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.