Not my fault
I had a bank account and credit card with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). I had to change my job and visited India as part of the exit formalities for visa change.
I wanted to transfer money while in India but my full and final settlement was put on hold. On returning to the UAE, I got to know that approximately Dh23,000 were put on hold for a credit card outstanding of Dh1,000. I was upset about this, as I needed money in India. I immediately took the decision to close my credit card. I was always cash-rich, and so, paid my dues generally even before the generation of my credit card statement.
I asked ADCB team to knock off my credit card dues with my bank balance and release the rest. Their team did this in early May 2015.
In August 2015, I received a credit card statement from ADCB, which I did not bother to open, as I had closed the credit card three to four months earlier. I ignored it.
Then, I started getting messages that stated I would need to pay a minimum amount to ADCB. Also, it stated that if I had already paid, I should ignore the message. So, I ignored it again.
Then, I received a few calls from the recovery team of ADCB, saying I owed the bank. I kept asking what it was for and every time, the answer was that they had a list of people to call and didn’t know the details.
On every call, I explained to every person for 20 minutes that I had closed my card and asked under what circumstances they were calling me. Interestingly, earlier, ADCB had deducted more than was due, on their own, and then returned the excess deducted.
In November 2015, someone told me I had made a certain purchase in March, and the merchandiser had submitted the transaction in August, and that’s why I was charged.
So, for the first time, I checked how much was deducted by ADCB against my bank balance in May, to understand how this transaction was missed, if I had made a transaction in March and closed the card in May. Then, I checked all my statements and realised I had not paid for this, and it was a genuine due amount.
On the same weekend, I went to the branch, paid the money, took a receipt, scanned and sent it to the bank, asking them to close the case.
But ADCB have charged me on a closed credit card. Their recovery team is not giving me any details. I had closed my bank account as well, when I took the excess money that had been deducted.
ADCB charged late payment when it was their fault, and now on keep compounding their charge, making it a huge amount. I have been clear with them, that I will not pay for this nonsensical charge. But they keep on sending a message saying they will take legal action if I do not pay.
From Ms Garima Chhabra
Dubai
The management of ADCB responds:
Thank you for your cooperation and communication with us in the endeavour to best serve our customers and resolve their issues.
Customer satisfaction is at the very top of our agenda, which is why we have an established Service Quality Unit that is dedicated to handling all customer enquiries and complaints. While we cannot comment on specific customer cases, we do take finding a solution for our customers very seriously and approach every situation with the best interest of the customer in mind.
With reference to Ms Chhabra’s issue, please be advised that our Quality Unit has investigated the matter and confirmed that the card was cancelled on May 24, 2015, however there was an outstanding amount occurred due to unpaid transaction made on March 29, 2015, which got posted on July 16, 2015. The customer has paid the amount on November 14, 2015. As a service gesture, the late payment fees were waived off and the Release Letter will be issued shortly and sent to the customer. The issue was clarified to her and case is closed now.
We continually urge all customers to contact our Service Quality Unit 24/7 by phone, email or web, should they need any further clarification regarding their issues.
We would like to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention and hence giving us the opportunity to further our servicing to our valued customers.
Ms Chhabra updates:
Thank you so much. I received a call from ADCB, and the representative said they have issued a release letter. I am not getting any message now, asking me to pay. The case has been resolved thanks to the intervention of Gulf News.
(Process initiation: March 8. Response from organisation: March 13. Response from reader: March 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.
