Bank suspends clerk for signature forgery

Dubai: A resident has said an employee at a Dubai branch of an international bank forged his signature to cover up a blunder that was made while setting up his account.

The customer, who recently moved here, said he was appalled to discover a clerk at HSBC's Creek branch had scrapped his original documents and drafted new paperwork - while he wasn't even in the bank.

He told Gulf News: "I first realised something had gone wrong when the bank called to say my rent cheque had bounced. Then when delivering my ATM card and chequebook, the courier company had a completely different surname from mine, despite having all the other details correct."

The Briton spent hours with staff to sort out the matter. He then noticed paperwork dated one week after he first went to the bank and set up his account - in fact on a day when he was at work - with the wrong surname and a signature authorising the account that looked nothing like his own.

"Once I pointed out the paperwork irregularity, the employee's face dropped and a supervisor was called," he said.

"They promised me it would be rectified immediately, but when I went back a week later, my records hadn't been updated."

He said finally a month after the incident, a regional HSBC manager contacted him and said the bank had suspended a staff member over the incident and launched an investigation.

"He apologised repeatedly and ... promised it was an isolated incident and he would keep me informed with the progress of the investigation."

An HSBC spokeswoman confirmed a member of staff was facing disciplinary action. "We have our internal disciplinary procedures and action has been taken with regard to the staff. However, due to the confidentiality of these procedures and out of our respect to the privacy of our staff, we will not be able to disclose any details."