I have an issue with my First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) credit card. On May 2, 2016, I subscribed to an insurance scheme. This was based on a telephone call from a saleswoman. She told me that the scheme could be cancelled at any point of time during the year by just making a phone call to their contact centre and paying a Dh100 fine.

On May 7, 2016, I requested to cancel the insurance and the credit shield. The reason for requesting the cancellation was that the policy is only valid in the UAE and I was transferred to Doha, Qatar. I made calls to follow up on the cancellation, but I got a reply from the call centre that they have informed the insurance section and they will act on my request.

On May 12, 2016, I received an SMS that the FAB team was unable to contact me. Since I had already moved to Doha and my mobile roaming was not enabled, they were not able to contact me. After the SMS, I called FAB and informed them that I am in another country and gave them my new mobile number. I sent an email mentioning the service request number as a reminder and also mentioned my contact number in Doha, again.

On May 14, 2016, I received an SMS that my complaint was closed. Again, I made calls to follow up the request and advised them of my new number. A staff member from the insurance section called me on my Doha number to tell me that the insurance couldn’t be cancelled. I told her that as per the saleswoman, it could be cancelled at any point of time. She told me that she would check the call recordings and get back to me, but she never called me back. I told her to proceed with the cancellation.

On June 6, 2016, I sent a reminder via email. In between, I made numerous phone calls to contact centres and the contact centre staff tried to connect me to the insurance team, but they told me that they would get in touch with me. Every time, I had to update them with my Doha number.

I made many efforts, but everything was in vain. The contact centre called me to say the case was closed and the money would be refunded in my July statement. When July came, there was no refund.

I called FAB, since the original case was closed. I registered a new service request. When they called to follow up the case, I was told that the case is closed and the insurance is cancelled, but they would not refund the money. This is because 90 days had passed. They talked to me only after the expiry of 90 days and they were waiting all that time in order to talk to me.

I made numerous efforts to solve this case, but I was never successful.

The insurance charge was Dh972. I paid it completely because, otherwise they would slap a fine on me. Can Gulf News please help me sort this out?

From Mr Darby Abraham

Dubai

The management of FAB responds:

FAB supports the growth ambitions of its stakeholders and goes beyond financial products and services, and as such, we are grateful for all customer feedback as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Abraham via email informing him that the insurance charges were reversed and the card cancellation has been raised.

Mr Abraham responds:

Yes, FAB sent me a mail that the charges have been reversed and they have initiated the process for cancellation of the card. I cross-verified my statement via internet banking that the reversal has been done.

Thank you for the support, Gulf News, and for helping clear my issue.

(Process initiation: June 8. Response from organisation: June 22. Reader Confirmation: June 28.)

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.