Promises made
I was in need of a personal loan so I enquired with banks in the UAE for their profit rates, as I thought the bank where I had been banking for the past eight years was charging a higher interest rate.
I came across an agent from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) Emaar Square branch, who came to me and told me that his bank could offer a 6.5 per cent rate of interest, which was less than other banks.
I decided to apply from ADIB and started the application process, during which, I came in contact with a senior officer with whom I shared my case. I informed him that I also wished to take a home loan in a few months. He gave me a false promise of 5.7 per cent interest rate for a personal loan of Dh260,000 if I wished to go for both loans from ADIB.
I was happy to have such a low rate as other banks were offering 6.8 to 7.2 per cent reducing rate.
When I asked for written documents before proceeding to change my bank account, I was told to believe in his words as he said there was no written document to confirm the offer.
I believed in him and went ahead with the loan process.
During a telephone verification call, when I was asked about the profit rate, I said in clear words that I had been offered Dh260,000 at a profit rate of 5.7 per cent for four years, since the bank had approved a combo loan package of a home loan and personal loan.
The problem started here as the verification officer also didn’t tell me clearly that I had been given false information on the rate of interest. So, I thought what the loan officers told me was correct.
After completion of half of the process of buying out my car loan and getting my salary transfer letter, an ADIB agent came to meet me with loan documents for my signature. He came to my home parking lot and asked me to sign the documents in his car.
The documents had the written note of a loan amount of Dh260,000 and profit amount Dh45,000, but it did not mention the profit rate since only the loan amount was written. I signed the documents thinking that the interest rate would come to the same when calculated with the 5.7 per cent rate offered to me, as I was in the car and was not carrying a calculator.
I signed the documents.
After sending the documents and getting the amount, I asked the officer to send me the paper calculations of my profit rate amount with instalment. I was then told to log into my online account and check.
When I logged into my account I was shocked to see that the profit rate mentioned was 7.84 per cent and there was nothing else mentioned about the combo home loan package.
I tried to call the officers and asked them what they had done, to which they gave unsatisfactory and false statements that there was some misunderstanding. They offered a long tenure of five years’ payback with deferred payment option.
I raised a complaint with phone banking to check my loan verification call and to question the verification officer and loan officer, but they just contacted the same loan officer who in turn called me and said, “sorry your loan is done; nothing can be done now. Let’s see about the home loan”, and they just closed my complaint even when I requested for an inquiry on my telephone verification call.
All this is to save others from falling prey to such loan officers from ADIB and to get justice at my end.
From Mr Vaibhav Patil
Dubai
The management of ADIB responds:
There was a misunderstanding on the client’s side, which has now been clarified and he is now informed and the issue is closed.
Mr Patil responds:
Yes, the team contacted me and apologised saying there was miscommunication from the sales team and it will be taken care of, by the respective managers.
About rate change, nothing can be done as I had signed the contract without properly studying and it was my mistake.
(Process initiation: July 12. Response from organisation: July 13. Process completion: July 14.)
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