Cash back redemption
I read a report in Gulf News, regarding credit card charges reversal and how the newspaper helped the customer address the issue. I am experiencing the same problem, so I decided to get in touch. I have been using a Mashreq Bank Smart Saver credit card for many months. The bank has introduced a cashback policy towards purchases when using the credit card.
Recently, I called Mashreq’s customer service for the redemption of cash back, but I was shocked to know that Dh32 had expired without any prior notice. This should have been reflected in the previous month’s statement as a warning. How can the cashback amount be expired and deducted from the customer without prior information, mentioned in the previous month’s statement? I received the current month’s statement, stating Dh32 has expired, but the bank can introduce a column in the statement, about the expiry of the cashback as prior information.
I would like to request Gulf News to take this issue to the concerned authorities and to reverse the amount debited from my credit card.
From Mr Abid Hussain Baig
Abu Dhabi
The management of Mashreq Bank responds:
Upon investigation, we noticed that Mr Baig had called Mashreq’s call centre to redeem his cashback on July 21. His request to us was addressed immediately and Dh109 was redeemed and credited to his card. We also advised him via bank statement that Dh32 worth of cashback has expired as per the bank’s Terms & Conditions.
We called Mr Baig once again and explained to him that as per our T&Cs, cashback has a shelf life of 18 months and if not redeemed within the period, it cannot be redeemed post expiry. He advised us that he is now aware of the same as he has read the T&Cs subsequently.
Since Mr Baig is our valuable customer and we take pride in our customer centric approach in resolving complaints, we are glad to inform that we will be sending Mr Baig a mall shopping voucher to more than cover his financial loss. This is a pure service gesture without any prejudice.
We have informed Mr Baig of the same and he is extremely happy with the resolution, especially with the quick turnaround.
We sincerely appreciate the role played by Gulf News in helping us enhance our Customer Experience through its inter-mediatory role.
Mr Baig responds:
I confirm that Mashreq Bank’s representative called me and explained about the bank policy related to cashback and I have been compensated with the gift voucher as a valued customer. But, I still insist that the bank must consider modifying the statement details, to include cashback expiry information.
Hats off to Gulf News’ team and management for introducing such service. I would like to express my utmost gratitude for the effort and prompt action taken, in helping me resolve the issue.
(Process initiation: July 27. Response from organisation: July 27. Reader confirmation: July 28.)
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.
