Account Mismanagement, Digital Lockout and Poor Complaint Handling

In mid-January, I opened an account online with Absa. Shortly thereafter, I received a message stating that my profile was not up to date and that I needed to visit a branch with my ID and proof of address.

Last Wednesday, I went to the branch with the required documents. During the visit, the consultant offered to upgrade me to an Ultimate Plus account, which I agreed to. I was told someone would call me to confirm closure of the original account opened online. This call never came until Tuesday and only after I personally followed up. I then received an SMS confirming that the original account was closed.

On Saturday (after already visiting the branch), I received another SMS stating that I needed to take my documents to a branch or my accounts will be restricted. When I called to query this, the agent was dismissive, sighed repeatedly, asked what I wanted, and transferred me back to the IVR without assistance. I then sent a complaint to ***, which I was later told had not been received.

Yesterday, when attempting to log into my banking app, I discovered my profile had been locked. I called for assistance and after attempting to register again and login (as suggested by your call centre) I was told nothing could be done telephonically and that I must go to a branch. I then called The complaints team, who said they would escalate the digital lockout to the digital team and a separate complaint for the service issues to date.

I was also told my complaint would be assigned to a case manager. Instead, it was redirected back to the branch as a “product-related” complaint about account closure despite that already being resolved. This shows the complaint was not properly reviewed and that I was again being passed from pillar to post.

When I requested to close all accounts due to the ongoing issues, I was told this could only be done in branch. I was further informed that transferring my funds to another bank would cost R100 if I cannot do it myself on app (which I cannot access) or if I don't go to a branch, despite these issues arising from Absa’s internal processes. After insisting that I should not be penalised for service failures not caused by me, the branch has now arranged for the funds to be transferred by Monday and the account closed thereafter.

In terms of Section 54 of the Consumer Protection Act, consumers are entitled to timely and quality service. Additionally, under Treating Customers Fairly principles, financial institutions are required to handle complaints properly and provide fair outcomes. Based on this experience, these standards have not been met.

I request: • A formal written explanation for the digital lockout and mismanagement of my accounts • Written Confirmation that no fees will be charged • Appropriate compensation for the inconvenience, waste of business time caused by Absa and repeated service failures

Should this matter not be resolved satisfactorily, I reserve the right to escalate it to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and/or the FSCA without further notice.