I have had a very bad experience with the Najm card collections team for no mistake of mine. They deposited my security cheque and took Dh5,000 from my personal account, when I don’t owe them even a single dirham. Their collections team behaved rudely and unprofessionally.
The whole thing started with my March 2016 statement, where suddenly, a chargeback of Dh70 appeared on my card for cinema tickets. Firstly, I did not understand how a transaction, made in December 2015, could be charged in March 2016. Also, there was neither any email sent to me by Najm, nor an SMS, to inform me about this change in rules.
I used this service in 2015 as well, but I was never notified of a chargeback. How am I supposed to know of this change? I immediately called their customer service team, when I saw the charge. They agreed with me that there was a technical glitch and they did not send the communication. The representative also mentioned that this rule was initiated only in January 2016, so how could they charge me for a transaction done in December 2015? I asked them to reverse the charge and that I would be paying only my monthly instalments for a plan I had taken from them. However, they did not reverse it and kept on adding late payment fees to it. I have been consistently contacting them and even went personally to their collections department. The representative there insisted that I should make the payment. I asked the reason why and his reply was: “Because our system is showing you have late payments, you need to pay.” I asked them for a clarification, but till date, they have no feedback for me, yet they took the money from my account. Now, they say that I should check their website every day!
I visited them again but their team supervisor was very rude and unwilling to assist me. They had a dismissive attitude. I tried very hard to meet their team leader, but was turned down, saying their manager does not meet any customer who simply walks in. After running between the fourth and seventh floors multiple times and checking with around five to six people, I was only informed of their names, but not allowed to meet them. I was told that I needed to wait for their call and that they would call when they have an answer for me. Imagine my stress level! I have other personal commitments. First, they take my money, then they behave rudely, and now they are asking me to wait for an indefinite period.
Please, Gulf News, I really need help, advice or guidance on this. What should I do and whom should I approach?
From Ms Zarina Hussain
Dubai
The management of Najm responds:
Kindly be informed that the case of Ms Hussain has been investigated and closed. It started when our system reflected that the customer was paying less than the minimum amount required on her card. We have been in contact with her and the issue was cleared to both parties’ satisfaction.
Ms Hussain responds:
Thank you for the intervention. They agreed to refund the full amount because of the error on their end that reflected wrong transactions. I’m happy this has been sorted.
(Process initiation: February 9, 2017. Response from organisation: February 15, 2017. Reader confirmation: February 20, 2017.)
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.
