I requested a liability letter from Mashreq Bank on July 25, 2017, since National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD – now First Abu Dhabi Bank, FAB) offered to buy out my loans and credit card.
On July 30, I received an SMS confirming the receipt of my request and informing me that I can collect my letter within two days. I called up the bank on August 1, to follow up on my letter, and I was told by the call centre that it was ready for collection at a branch near me. So I went to Mashreq’s Jumeirah branch.
I took a token for their customer service, and ended up being ‘assisted’ by one of their rude customer service representatives. The moment I told him the reason for my visit, he asked me to pay Dh100 to the teller and come back with the receipt. I made the payment and brought him the receipt, and after that he gave me a copy of the liability letter without a single word. The bank personnel didn’t even take the time to explain or mention the details of the letter.
Instead, he asked me to sign at the bottom, as received. I did not sign and took my time to read all the details of the letter handed me. I was surprised to see the amount mentioned on my letter, which was way too high and inaccurate, compared to my actual outstanding liability, based on my statements.
Upon noticing this discrepancy, I immediately logged on to my Mashreq mobile application, which shows my current account details, such as loans and credit card, and showed it to the staff member. I asked the representative about this discrepancy and demanded an explanation as to how and why I was charged higher than what is mentioned in my statements. My credit card outstanding balance as per my statements is Dh838.24, while the liability letter stated that my credit card outstanding amount was Dh1,500. Regarding the personal loan, my statement says Dh263,751.36 is the current outstanding amount, while the liability letter stated that my loan outstanding amount was Dh270,800. The bank representative was unable to explain the details of this discrepancy and instead, he asked me to move back as he wanted to assist another customer. I told him to complete assisting me before proceeding with assisting another customer, and demanded to speak to the manager in charge. Another 20 minutes passed, but no manager showed up. With great frustration, I decided to leave the branch, since I had to go back to work. I would like to seek Gulf News’ assistance to escalate this case further with the bank.
From Mr Eric Vincent Placido
Dubai
The management of Mashreq responds:
Thank you for sharing the issue raised by one of our customers, Mr Placido.
Mr Placido had requested for the issuance of the liability letter from Mashreq in order to proceed with buyout from National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
The liability letter was issued dated July 31, 2017, and his loan installment due for the month of August 2017 was recovered dated August 5, 2017, due to which, there was a discrepancy reflecting on his issued liability letter.
We are arranging the issuance of a new liability letter with the current outstanding on his loan and card liabilities.
He is our valued customer and we do regret any inconvenience caused to him.
We have contacted Mr Placido and informed him the same. He is satisfied with our resolution.
I take this opportunity to thank Gulf News once again for bringing a customer issue to our notice.
Mr Placido responds:
I would like to thank Gulf News for its support in escalating my case with Mashreq. Also, I would like to thank Mashreq’s customer service for assistance. However, I cannot consider this case closed till the time I receive my liability letter with the correct charges mentioned on it.
Editor’s note: Since Mr Placido states there are still incorrect charges, he will approach the Central Bank directly.
(Process initiation: August 7. Response from organisation: August 10. Process completion: August 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.
