ABSA INCOMPETENCE
On the 07th April 2022, I decided to switch banks and opened an ABSA account online. I then decided to go to their branch in Maponya the following day on the 8th and finished the application there since the lady who was helping me said it was on FICA hold. She scanned my documents and escalated to ABSA FICA to remove the hold. I was able to access the bank confirmation letter which I sent to my employer to change my current banking details which they did. Today I am sitting here unpaid due to the ABSA Staff neglegence who did not remive the FICA hold from the 8th April 2022 until I called through today at 11:00 am after noticing that my salary was not reflecting. I called the call centre at 08:30 am which advised me to go back to the branch and also load R50 to activate the account. So I went, the lady who was helping me had the audicity to lie on my face and told me its my fault because I did not deposit the R50 hence it went back to the FICA Hold status. I asked her to call someone to get it removed and she told me they can only email.
There I was walking out of the branch beating myself up. Bear in mind my mom is waiting for me to come back to buy bread for her, thats when I called the ABSA call centre and they gave me the ABSA FICA call centre number, funny because Sylvia at the branch only has the email address only. I then called and Ivans from the call centre told me to check at 12:45 pm because they had just removed it, it was only removed today!!! I went to deposit and the atm referred me back to the branch and I decided to go to one of the consultants instead of customer care, and she explained that it was not my fault and they are currently having issues with the FICA department:
1. I dont need to deposit R50 to activate cheque account
2. The FICA hold was supposed to be removed within 2 hours after escalation
3. I dont need to make a deposit of R50 I repeat...
My employer paid me and the money bounced and I have to wait 48 hours for the money to reflect back to my employer and then transferred to me again.
I find this incompetence appalling to the least and I really suffered just to become an ABSA BANK Client........