Business banking - poor service and communication.

Poor service and communication.

Business account frozen with no advance communication after 50 years banking with ABSA. No communication received on a way forward or discussion with client on possible solutions.

Last email sent to business banker at ABSA on 16 May 2022 - no reply received.

Below is the timeline of events:

2021/8/19 - Afikile (business banker) request documents to do review of overdraft. 2021/9/13 - Afikile confirmed receipt of overdraft docs requested. 2021/10/1 - unable to access overdraft facility, business account is frozen. This is then resolved.

2021/11/16 - Issue with overdraft re-occurs where we had overdraft but not access to funds. 2021/11/19 - resolved.

2021/11/25 - additional forms requested for overdraft review. 2021/12/10 - we suggest overdraft reduction and request this when returning forms as requested by banker (incorrect overdraft reduction forms returned to us)

2022/01/26 - logged complaint on hellopeter regarding incorrect overdraft reduction forms. 2022/02/02 - Business account is frozen. 2022/02/08 - Business account is unfrozen, correct forms for reducing overdraft are not sent to client.

2022/4/07 - we query the overdraft being up for review in May as we notice an expiry date of 3/05 on the online banking for the business ***/4/19 - Afikile confirms that overdraft is approved and that the next review will only be due Jan 2023. 2022/4/26 - we ask if Afikile can get the online information updated to reflect the above.

2022/5/3 - The overdraft business account is closed. 2022/5/4 - We prompt Afikile for more feedback on the overdraft and she gets back to tell us it has been cancelled.

In summary, we feel that the communication and service we have received on this issue isn't at the level we’d expect from Absa. Mr Miller has been banking with ABSA for 50 years. The business banker assured us that the overdraft review in 2021 had been successful and would only be reviewed again in 2023. We would at the very least expect a discussion with ourselves as power of attorney to resolve any concerns and to look at options to address them as well as advance notice that the facility is being removed, not only being told the day after the fact. We ourselves initiated a discussion around reducing the overdraft earlier in the year.

Freezing the business account actually creates more difficulty to run the business and pay off the overdraft as it impedes the ability to do business.