I left UAE in October 2015. I had a credit card loan, because at the time, I wanted to close it, but First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) informed me that I had to pay the remaining interest, because it was a cash advance. I decided to pay it on a monthly basis, to get by. However, this month, I decided to close the card.

I called the bank’s customer service department to confirm that I would have to pay just Dh950 to close the loan. Since I was overseas, it took three days for the payment to come through. After the payment, I gave them another call to cancel it, but the person I spoke with, told me that my insurance had been renewed automatically the day before, and I had to pay Dh350 for my card to be closed.

I immediately read the insurance policy, which was due for renewal on December 3, 2017. The date was almost two weeks away and I could request to cancel it within 30 days of the renewal period. I asked the customer service agent to cancel it and she told me that it would take 45 working days for the amount to be reverted.

I told her that since I was not in the UAE anymore, how could I get the amount back if I wanted to close the card? She didn’t give me any answer, but told me that I would have to pay the amount. I sent an email to their customer service department, but received no response.

My grievance is: I really want to close the card. Since the insurance will eventually be reverted, why can’t the bank just close the card, since there won’t be any way for me to receive the money? I don’t want to pay Dh350 for something that I am not going to use.

From Mr Francis Forbes

Australia

The management of FAB responds:

FAB supports the growth ambitions of its stakeholders and goes beyond financial products and services, and as such, we are grateful for all customer feedback as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Forbes, his FAB credit card has been cancelled and the charges have been reversed.

(Process initiation: January 6, 2018. Response from organisation: January 14, 2018. Process completion: January 20, 2018.)

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.