I have been using an Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) cashback card since the past two years. I received a message on August 6, 2017 at 8.46pm, that a payment of Dh6,931.23 had been made towards Almosafer company, Saudi Arabia. My card was with me, so someone might have used my credentials online. I immediately called the call centre and updated them about the situation and after their suggestion, I temporarily blocked my card.
On same day, I got a call from the card security team and they informed me that there were three transactions held; two other transactions of Dh12,000 were declined (I assume due to unavailability of balance). They suggested that I block the card permanently and they will issue a new card, which will be dispatched to me within three to four days.
Since then, I have been in regular contact with customer care, and I was informed that until the merchant does not accept the payment, nothing that can be done. If they do not accept the payment, it will reflect in my account.
Just to ensure they do not accept the payment and as per advice from Emirates Islamic customer care, I called the customer care of Almosafer and requested them not to accept the payment. They wanted a statement for all the details. As the statement was not generated, I sent them screenshots of the text messages for the transactions done, but did not receive any reply.
Today, when I called the bank’s customer care, I got to know that the merchant had already accepted the transaction on August 9, so I would have to issue a dispute form. The complaint was raised. I got the replacement card on August 14.
Today, I got an email that the dispute will be resolved by February 25, 2018, which is more than six months from now. My salary is not enough to make this payment and wait for payment to return back to my account. I requested the bank to not consider this transaction for payment on September 4, which is the next due date, and to resolve the issue by the end of the month. However, the bank said I have to remit the payment to avoid any interest. I have to request for an interest waiver, which might be approved based on the bank’s decision.
This situation is not at all acceptable.
First, my card was with me and I did not receive any one-time password (OTP) for the transaction, so it is a case of hacking. The bank has to be more vigilant regarding such transactions.
Second, I never used any Saudi Arabia merchant for payment and never made a single transaction of more than Dh2,000. So the bank should consider this and quarantine this payment till the dispute is resolved, so that I do not have to pay three per cent monthly interest on this amount.
Third, six months to solve a dispute for fraud payment with a reputed travel and tourism company is bizarre. There are only four parties involved - me, the bank, Visa and the merchant. If priority is given, it can be solved within a month.
I seek Gulf News’ support to sort this issue out, so that I can save money and have peace of mind. From Mr Sujeet Anand
Dubai
The management of Emirates Islamic responds: Thank you for bringing Mr Anand’s concerns to our attention. Our Customer Experience and Fraud Monitoring teams have been in touch with Mr Anand regarding the investigation into a suspected fraudulent transaction on his credit card. As per international card norms, transaction disputes can take up to 120 days to resolve but we immediately credited the customer’s credit card with the full amount of the suspected transaction till we completed our investigation. In addition, we also provided the customer with a replacement card on an urgent basis for his convenience.
Mr Anand is satisfied with our prompt action. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Emirates Islamic is committed to providing the best customer experience to all our clients.
Mr Anand responds:
I would like to update you on the latest development regarding the fraud transaction done by my credit card and action taken by Emirates Islamic team.
The fraud amount was temporarily credited to my account and the issue will be closed after final investigation.
So in this case, I am safe, as I do not need to pay any kind of interest for this fraud payment so whatever time they take in solving this problem, it will not harm me.
I got a call from Emirates Islamic in reference to my complaint via Gulf News, and I am happy they called and asked for grievance redressal. A big thank you to the newspaper for taking care of the concerns of residents of the UAE.
(Process initiation: September 13. Response from organisation: September 17. Reader confirmation:
September 17.)
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.
