Absa Bank Account Closure Not Processed And Unfair Charges Accrued

I was an international student who opened an Absa Bank account approximately two years ago. I have since completed my studies and left South Africa.

On the 17th of December, the day of my flight, I visited my local Absa branch to deposit the remaining physical South African rands I had and to initiate the closure of my account. I was assisted and informed that the account closure process would take up to five working days. Due to time constraints and the urgency of my flight, I left shortly thereafter. I did not withdraw the remaining balance, as it was minimal — I simply used what remained for travel expenses and loaded the rest onto my virtual Apple Pay.

I left the country that same evening believing the matter had been resolved.

Fast forward to today 2 February, while clearing space on my phone, I came across the Absa banking app and decided to check whether my login still worked, assuming the account would have been closed. To my surprise, the account was still active and had been accruing monthly bank charges for the past two months.

The account has accumulated R302.20 in bank fees, charges that should never have existed had the closure been processed as promised. I was on a Gold Value Account, which previously charged R135 per month, but I noticed the fee has since increased to R150 per month. This has occurred despite zero account usage since December.

To whichever Absa Bank official sees this post: I kindly request assistance in properly closing this account and addressing the charges that accrued due to an administrative failure. I am currently out of the country and therefore cannot make another physical branch visit. The account was meant to be closed in December, and it should not be standing open and accumulating fees. I would appreciate urgent intervention to resolve this matter.