I hope Gulf News might be able to assist me with an issue that I am facing with Emirates NBD. I am a professor who does not earn a lot, and every dirham counts. In this case, I feel that the bank is in the wrong, and I could Gulf News’ help to have the issue addressed.
My Emirates NBD debit card was set to expire in November 2017. Thus, when I got a message from the courier that my new card would be delivered, I was relieved. However, time passed, and I got an SMS that the card was not able to be delivered. I never received a call. So, I called the courier company, but they said the card had been returned to the bank. All this happened within 21 days’ time.
I went to the Ibn Battuta Mall branch in Dubai, on November 28, but they said I would have to go to my original branch. On November 29, I went to the Mall of the Emirates branch, but it was closed for remodelling. As it was now the holiday weekend, I had no access to my cash. The following Sunday, while shopping at Dragon Mart, I withdrew some money from my credit card. The bank charged me Dh99 fee for the withdrawal! I did not know the fee was so high; there was no warning before proceeding with the transaction.
I only used the credit card, because the bank (and the courier company) failed to provide me my new debit card in a reasonable manner. My credit is always paid in full each month, and I have money in my current account; I clearly did not need a credit advance.
I visited the Media City branch to discuss the matter and a bank representative looked over my phone’s messages to confirm the facts, but said nothing could be done. She said the courier company should have held the card longer before returning. To add insult to injury, the representative suggested I order a new debit card, for a fee! I am requesting a reversal of the Dh99 fee, and a new ATM debit card without another fee. I have written to the bank, but have received no response.
From Mr Brad Freeman
Dubai
The management of Emirates NBD responds:
We are pleased to inform that our Group Customer Experience team has been in touch with Mr Freeman and the matter has been resolved to his satisfaction.
We would like to reiterate our commitment to providing superior service to our customers and thank you for your continuous support in providing us with the opportunity to resolve their issues.
Mr Freeman responds:
Emirates NBD did reverse the credit advance charge and they did send me the new debit card. However, they charged me Dh25 again for the card. So it seems that they can’t get it quite right. I would also suggest that going forward, Emirates NBD puts a warning message on their ATMs so that when a customer wants to withdraw on a credit card, the ATM screen should say: “This will incur a fee of Dh99 or 3 per cent charge; do you wish to proceed?”
Emirates NBD responds:
Further to Mr Freeman’s feedback, please note that the charges have been reversed and the matter has been resolved to his satisfaction.
We would like to reiterate our commitment to providing superior service to our customers and thank you for your continuous support in providing us with the opportunity to resolve their issues.
Mr Freeman responds:
Thanks very much, Gulf News. Emirates NBD has made the situation right.
(Process initiation: December 11, 2017. Response from organisation: December 18, 2017. Process completion: December 29.)
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.
