I wish to raise my concerns about FGB’s practice of activating products without any pre-authorisation from its customers and charging us for the same. There was no mention of credit shield and accident insurance on the application form, nor was this highlighted to me. However, they have charged for the same and are not ready to reverse these charges, which is unfair and unethical business practice, in my opinion.
On calling the bank’s call centre, their representative stated: “It was under the terms and conditions of the credit card.” However, the salesperson never highlighted this to me nor did he take specific consent for the same.
Credit card companies, or any organisation for that matter, should clearly provide options for customers on the application forms and/or the sales agents should be trained on bringing it to the customer’s attention when making a sale.
I strongly believe that charging a customer without his/her specific consent and then refusing to reverse such charges, under the pretext of “terms and conditions” or “policy” is tantamount to an unfair trade practice.
I request Gulf News’ intervention in the matter to not only seek reversal of the charges, but also to highlight the same for public awareness.
From Mr Bilal Javaid
Abu Dhabi
The management of FGB responds:
FGB is grateful for all customer feedback to which we give careful consideration as we strive to consistently deliver the highest standards of service. The bank has been in contact with Mr Javaid, and confirmed that the insurance policy has been cancelled and the charges for only the month of July 2016 will be reversed.
(Process initiation: August 3. Response from organisation: August 8.)
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.
