A customer service representative from National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) contacted me for a loan transfer facility in August 2016. Things went smoothly at first. He indicated a loan amount and we had an agreement on the equated monthly instalment (EMI). The representative requested liability letters for two of my credit cards from different banks for account closure. From there, the supposedly smooth transaction started to get delayed. Three times, he failed to provide the correct documents required by one of the banks, causing me to request for the same letter three times. Each time, it cost me Dh100.

The representative also asked me to deposit an amount of Dh12,500 to the NBAD account provided to me, so that the amount I wanted for the loan could be provided. When I told him I did not have such a large amount, he said he would swipe his card to get the cash, and I could pay for the bank charges, which amounted to almost Dh500. Just to finish the transaction, I agreed to it (but I deeply regretted doing so, later on). I have also requested (by email and SMS) all necessary documents for my loan and liability, including the EMI information and breakdown of payments that I would make within the loan period. But I have not received any information till date.

The loan amount was transferred to my NBAD account and the first EMI should have been for the first week of December 2016. As I was on vacation for the full month of December (till first week of January 2017) and was not sure if my company would be able to transfer my December salary to NBAD, on November 29, I deposited the agreed EMI to the NBAD account. This was for me to have peace of mind during my vacation and to not worry about anything related to any liabilities I had left in Dubai.

Unfortunately, a loan officer called my mother’s mobile number, telling her I had a loan amount due for December 2016. I also received a very aggressive SMS, informing me that UAE Central Bank would block me because my loan was not paid. After sending them a lengthy email, confirming the amount I deposited before I left Dubai, and the difference in EMI that was given to me versus the one they were supposed to charge me, they responded stating that they would normalise the account. On the same call, I also found out the actual EMI provided by the representative was higher than the EMI he had originally provided. Before this, I was never informed at any stage that the EMI had been increased by the hundreds.

My salary was transferred to NBAD, starting December 2016. I was expecting to get two months’ salary after I returned from my leave. However, my NBAD account showed a negative amount and I could not withdraw any amount. This meant, for the past two months, NBAD was holding my salary for no acceptable reason.

The second bank I was dealing with also requested a guarantee letter from NBAD to close my credit card with them, which I forwarded to the NBAD representative on January 8, 2017. Till now, he has neither acknowledged nor responded my email. I have sent several reminders, yet I am not getting a response. I have called their customer service but I was told they do not have my details, and another person called me, offering a loan from the same bank, saying he could see in the system that my loan had been cancelled. This was why he was offering me a new loan.

This case is causing me a lot of stress. NBAD has been withholding my salary for the past two months and I am not able to pay my liabilities on time. I have a child going to school and I have not paid her tuition fees on time because of this. I hope Gulf News can help me solve this case.

From Ms Karen Javillonar

Dubai

The management of NBAD responds:

Thank you for your constant cooperation and communication with us in the endeavour to best serve our customers and resolve their issues.

We have investigated Ms Javillonar’s complaint and below is our feedback:

Ms Javillonar took a loan with NBAD in August 2016 to settle her dues with a couple of other banks. Her first instalment was due in October 2016 and she requested the sales agent to defer her first instalment to November 2016. Unfortunately, the sales agent did not communicate to Ms Javillonar that her request to defer her first instalment was declined by the Credit department. In December 2016 our Collections department contacted Ms Javillonar and requested her to pay the instalment that was due, in order to regularise her account. The earmark on her account was not released as we did not receive the Clearance Letter from one of the banks and our Sales agents will assist Ms Javillonar in obtaining the Clearance Letter from the other bank. We have contacted Ms Javillonar and have addressed all her concerns.

Thank you once again for forwarding the complaint to us. Our Customers Experience is very important to us and we are thankful for the opportunity to respond.

Ms Javillonar responds:

Thank you Gulf News, for looking into this case. Indeed, the newspaper’s assistance has been a big help, especially in getting the bank’s attention. I confirm that two people called me from NBAD to check on the issue. However, I can see from their response that they have given a very “safe” response without giving direct answers to the issues I raised.

NBAD states: “Her first instalment was due in October 2016 and she requested the sales agent to defer her first instalment to November 2016. Unfortunately, the sales agent did not communicate to Ms Javillonar that her request to defer her first instalment was declined by the Credit department.” This statement is inaccurate and misleading. At the onset of my communication with the salesperson, I had the understanding that the first payment would be done in November 2016. On October 20, 2016, it was the salesperson who informed me that I would need to send him an email with a message “to defer October payment to November”, and not the other way around. I did not request for it. As I told them on the phone during our recent conversation, I would have neither sent an email nor had the inclination of sending an email, if it were not for the salesperson. My only concern regarding this, is that I did not get the right information. They do not have to rewrite what happened. This is where issues in this case started.

Although NBAD has promised that they are looking into this matter, the issue has not been addressed till this day. My total salary has not been released and NBAD has not provided the letter that the second bank requested.

Nevertheless, thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate it.

NBAD responds:

Thank you once again for forwarding us Ms Javillonar’s concerns. We have contacted her and have apologised to her for inconvenience caused on her first instalment date and have clarified that this will remain as per her signed application. Furthermore, we have requested the customer to approach her current bank to obtain clearance to conclude her formalities with us.

(Process initiation: February 2, 2017. Response from company: February 6, 2017. Process completion: February 21, 2017.)

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.