Here's what Moji Delano a Nigerian blogger says she
encountered with GTB. She actually sent the story in. Please read...
Before the 31st day of October 2014, Guarantee Trust
Bank-GTB could do no wrong in my eyes.
I prided them as being one of the most customer friendly
banks who pay attention to detail and customer satisfaction, though many people
I know argued otherwise. My friends argued that GTB has become very comfortable
because of their large customer base, and have now taken a lot for granted. I
always defended my ‘favourite’ bank because I truly believed that GT was indeed
a fantastic and customer friendly bank.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT.........................
But alas, I was wrong. Very wrong. My bitter personal
experience with the bank is what I want to address in this post and also send a
clear message to the bank that it WILL NEVER BE OK, to take any customer
regardless of who they are for granted.
On the 31st of October 2014, around 11pm to be precise I
tried pay for an Aero Contractors
Ticket. I have always chosen to pay through GT PAY via the GT online platform
because I trusted that if I had any issues during the process, my money will be
refunded, and in good time too. But on that fateful day, after filling in all
the necessary details, including the 6 digit code generated from my token, I
got the message ‘INVALID TOKEN CODE’. I thought it was just an error so I tried
it again. On trying it again the same thing happened. Eventually, I thought it
wise to call customer care to complain about the token, since I had no prior
issues with it that day.
On calling customer care, the token’s irregularity was fixed
and then I tried to pay again. This time around the transaction was successful,
and I breathed a sigh of relief. Unknown to me however, my money was deducted
for the two previous attempts before the successful transaction. I didn’t get any alert immediately to this
effect, and it wasn’t until I tried to purchase credit with my GT app that I
noticed the irregularity in my account. Instead of Sixteen Thousand, Five
Hundred and Ten Naira (N16, 510), a total sum of Forty-Nine Thousand, Five
Hundred and Thirty Naira (N49, 530) was deducted from my account. Simply put,
my money was deducted for the two initial false transactions.
I didn’t panic, because I was glad at that point I paid
through GTB. I thought my money will be
refunded within 24 hours, at most 48 hours, and to ensure this, I put a call to
customer care immediately to lodge a complaint. This was way past midnight
already.
The Customer Care Representative I spoke to apologised and
explained that on the 31st of every month, the GT Bank online system resets
automatically and corrects errors etc for the end of the month’s transactions.
This I was told happens between the hours of 11pm and 2pm (or thereabout) every
last day of the month. While this is going on, errors, false deductions etc
could take place, and the system post-dates the transaction to the next working
day. As a result, whatever error or discrepancy will be taken to have occurred
on the following working day and sorted in that line. I was also made to
understand that as a result of the system reset, my transaction was post-dated
to November 3rd, the next working day. I was advised to wait till the end of
the next working day before lodging another complaint.
Against the backdrop of the explanation I was given, I
waited till Tuesday before calling back. On doing so, I was told my complaint
had been noted and transferred to the appropriate quarters for the matter to be
looked into, and I should wait for 48 hours. I did.
Few days later I called again after I heard nothing, to
lodge another complaint. I was told to be patient that my money will be
refunded ‘soon’.
Few days turned to one week, one week to two. In between I
was calling customer care, which was a very harrowing experience. I called
customer care more than 10 times, during which I would sometimes have to wait
endlessly to speak to an agent. Sometimes after waiting for ages, the agent
picks up and the line disconnects, perhaps due to network. I would have to go through
the rigour of calling again, and waiting endless to speak to another agent,
only to be told in the same monotonous tone: “Your complaint has been forwarded
to the right channel to work on it and your money will be refunded soon.” When
I ask “How soon is soon?” They always replied: “We can’t give an exact date but
they will work on it.” This response and
the attitude of some of the agents I spoke to made me wonder if it wasn’t my
hard earned money in question.
Two weeks after continuously calling and complaining, I got
an alert from GTBANK, a refund alert. But before I could heave a sigh of
relief, I found that it was just half of the money deducted that was refunded.
From that point I had to start calling customer care again, and going through
the same strenuous process. After about one week and nothing had been done, I
decided to go to the GTBank at Bode-Thomas where I do most of my transactions.
I complained to the customer care agent in charge and she said my money will be
refunded soon. More than a week later, no refund, no message or anything of
that sort informing me of the status quo.
In the wee hours of Tuesday-25th November 2014, I called
customer care again-for the last time. After relating my case to the agent, he
told me as usual: “I can see that your complaint has been forwarded to the
right channel and it will be sorted out soon.” “How soon is soon?” I asked. “I cannot give you a specific time.”
Same old story.
At this point I’m very upset and this is way more than N16,
510. I can’t help but wonder:
* Why I need to
call customer care with my own money in the first place? In a civilised
country, calling customer care should be FREE. It’s more than ridiculous that a
bank like GTBank, with one of the biggest customer base in the country feels
the need to rip off their customers by charging them exorbitantly when they
call customer care. What about people who can’t afford to spend ridiculous
amounts to call customer care, don’t they deserve to be catered to?
* Why I should be
deprived unjustly of my ‘hard earned money’, without any sign of remorse from a
bank where I operate 4 functioning
accounts including domiciliary, and do more than 90% of my money related
transactions;
* I can’t help but
wonder If the extra N33,020 was all I
had in all my accounts, and I need for instance: to pay for my tuition fees or
forfeit my admission, pay for my medical bills, or even feed, what would have
happened in the last one month that my money has been cruelly held on too;
* I can’t
understand why when you call GT customer care, and after waiting endlessly the
phone disconnects, the agent can’t call back?
* I can’t
understand, why many of the customer care agents I spoke to seemed tired of
their job, and answer in the most lacklustre manner?
* I can’t
comprehend why after almost a month, no one feels the need to update me on how
the issue is being handled;
* I don’t
understand why in the first place I need to be deprived of my money for one
month.
Companies like GTBank need to understand that every
customers’ issue or complaint rich, poor or average should be treated with
utmost priority. That the bank now has a
huge customer base is not enough to get comfortable and treat some customers
poorly. At every point in every reputable company, CUSTOMER CARE SHOULD BE
PRIORITY.
At this point I will also like to say unequivocally, that
GTBank no longer owes me N16,510. The bank owes me more. Apart from refunding
my money, I expect a refund for the numerous calls to customer care and the
stress of going to the bank to no avail, as well as compensation for the stress
I’ve put through. In countries where the legal system works more accurately,
GTB will by now be swimming in law suits, real and frivolous, because many
aggrieved customers are not being properly attended to. I’m sure I’m not the
only customer experiencing this and I base my conclusion on a recent survey I
did inspired by the way my matter is being handled. Ripping people off (No
matter how little), yet using their money to run their business is very unfair
and unjust.
Be it billions, millions or thousands deposited, the bank is
doing no customer a favour, instead it’s the other way round. The experts at GT
I’m sure know the importance of every type of customer, hence their concentration
on retail banking.
This is how I have being shabbily treated by a Bank I held
very highly, and spoke very passionately about in the past. I have been treated
‘like I don’t matter, like my patronage means nothing’.
Let me add also that I am a qualified lawyer, and I know
what to do from this point if my complaints and request are not promptly and
properly attended to. I will not be bullied, because I know my rights.
I may not be Femi Otedola or Dangote, but I am a good and
respectable customer. Hence I will not rest until I get an apology and the
proper refund that I deserve.
Thank You.
Moji Delano
www.mojidelano.com
Twitter hashtag: #GTBMustRefundMe
Dis babe yaf vex o! Oya GTB pay her now and please call her to apologise. To Moji, I apologise on their behalf. I don't work there or av an Acct with the bank, but I know dis could happen with any bank, I'm not sure dey intentionally want to frustrate u, altho sha, dey should av called to manage ur expectations and assured u dat ur issue was being looked into......jo, ma binu!
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