Companies respond to consumer issues

Blocked amount

I would like to share with readers an interesting transaction with First Gulf Bank (FGB) on my Visa Platinum (Masdar) credit card, which still remains a banking faux pas.

I have an FGB credit card which has a credit limit of Dh30,000. Through one of their insurance agents, I bought a Zurich insurance policy in October 2013, for which the annual premium is approximately Dh13,000. The agent assured that it would be debited through a monthly instalment from my credit card and I would have to pay no interest charge for this equated monthly instalment (EMI).

In November 2013, to my utter surprise, I saw that the entire Dh13,000 had been debited in my card statement. After many frantic follow-ups with the bank’s customer service, they reversed it.

However, they blocked Dh13,000 on my credit card, reducing my credit limit by this amount. This means I could only use up to Dh17,000 on my card.

This issue, despite many complaints, has not been resolved yet. I would like to surrender the policy as well as the card as it does not make sense to block my credit limit in lieu of EMIs which they are already recovering every month.

In the name of ‘bank policy’, these credit card issuers are taking consumers for a ride. How can we address such fraudulent matters?

From Mr Amit Sinha

Dubai

The management of First Gulf Bank responds:

FGB is always keen to receive feedback from its customers in order to better understand their financial needs and to support them with any issues they may have. The bank has been in touch with Mr Sinha to discuss the matter, and the customer is satisfied with the resolution.

Mr Sinha responds:

I am pleased to state that after Gulf News’ intervention, I got a call from FGB’s credit card division and they have raised my credit limit from Dh30,000 to Dh55,000, which I think is reasonable on their part. I am glad that this has taken effect and am also very thankful to the newspaper for having the issue addressed.

Long wait

I cancelled my Air India Express ticket on December 25, 2013. The refund amount has not yet been credited and I am still following up for a refund. I sent an e-mail to the airline’s customer support team on January 15, 2014 and tried contacting the customer service help line number as well, but only got apologies as replies and no valid response.

Furthermore, I e-mailed the customer support team repeatedly on January 19, January 22 and February 2. I was then informed that my case had been transferred to the finance department. No doubt, it is this department that deals with refunds.

Finally, I was given a contact number and an e-mail address of a person from India on February 2. The customer support team asked me to send an e-mail to him and advised that I contact him directly, ‘after a week if he doesn’t respond to the e-mail’. I don’t understand why I should contact a person in India when I booked the ticket from Abu Dhabi.

I request Gulf News to please help me with my refund.

From Ms Niza Jibssa Mehaboob

Abu Dhabi

The management of Air India Express responds:

This is to inform you that the finance department has already refunded Dh540 to the credit card on February 7, 2014. The amount will reflect to the credit card account within four to five working days. Kindly accept our sincere apology for the delay in processing the refund and any inconvenience caused to Ms Mehaboob.

Ms Mehaboob responds:

The refund amount has been credited to my account. Thanks a lot for the help and involvement.

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