Invalid bank charges

In spite of repeatedly approaching the bank (Najm), the bank has not been responsive to accept my request. The bank has invalidly charged the late payment fee of Dh179 to my card towards my last statement due on January 26, 2013. The minimum payment due amounted to Dh119.

I got a credit of Dh1,146 from a merchant towards my earlier transaction cancellation, which was reflected in my online statement on January 17, 2013, that is, 9 days before the due date. Since the credit relates to a transaction for which payment I had already been made to the bank in earlier months, hence the credit amount needs to be adjusted by the bank first against the previous month’s amount due. Hence the bank seems to be completely at fault to deny the fact that I have not made the payment before the due date. Kindly look into this matter and get the bank to reverse the charges.

From Mr Bikash Khetan

Dubai

The management of Majid Al Futtaim Finance LLC responds:

Please be advised that our system is setup to comply with best industry practices to ensure safety and security of customer accounts and prevent misuse. Hence reversed merchant charges are not considered as payment against customer statements’ dues unless the customer receives his detailed statement and confirms and approves reconciliation. In this particular case, the reversal of the credit appeared after the cutoff date of the statement, hence the customer received his statement the way it is. Yet out of our goodwill gesture and since we value Mr Khetan as a customer, we have reversed his late payment charges.

We wish this is satisfactory and we thank you again for your valuable contribution to the community.

Mr Khetan responds:

Thanks a lot for your effort.

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