Fancy titles, clueless individuals!

On 11 July I booked an air ticket via my travel agent, for which payment was successfully processed with my Absa premium credit card. However when she tried to process the R1000 amount for my travel insurance it wouldn't go through. I thought this might be a security issue - not allowing 2 transactions from the same service provider to go through consecutively and told her to try again the following day, which she did. Again, the transaction declined.

I tried to call Absa on the number given on the back of my credit card. Numerous times on the automated system I was told that both my card number and ID number were not recognised and when I was put through to an agent, these were in the home loans department. They would transfer me, only to go through the whole circus once again! Nobody could tell me why the number on my card, took me to the home loans department. Eventually I gave up and sent a DM on Twitter. I received a response from: Nthabiseng Sibande, Specialist Case Manager, Customer Value Management, who then followed up via email.

From the start it was obvious that this person was unable to assist, but instead of handing it over to someone who could, they continued to waste my time.

Nthabiseng did nothing that I requested, and instead of taking on the responsibility for the issue, the problem remained mine and my travel agent's!

I asked for the issue to be escalated, and for an explanation to be supp**** by close of business on Wednesday 13.07.2022. I specifically asked that if Nthabiseng was not able to deal with the issue that it be handed to a premium banking manager, and that they should call me.

None of these things were done. Instead I received a strange request asking for a transfer to be done into an ABSA account, using my credit card number as a reference!! When I asked why this was being requested, again, no response or explanation was given! I informed Nthabiseng that I was unable to reach them on the phone number given on their emails - no explanation was given for that either and not once did they try to contact me telephonically - not even after I had clearly said I was trying to make telephonic contact.

And then I was asked to provide the message that my travel agent had received when they had tried to process my transaction that was declined. So again - Nthabiseng made the problem mine, expecting me to follow up, something which should have done in the first place!

It's quite clear this person was unable to deal with this problem. The fact that they didn't even bother to contact me by phone speaks volumes.

On Friday, I was then informed that Absa will close the case as they asked me to provide them with the error message, and I haven't done so! Even though they have not responded to a single one of my queries and requests, and have done nothing to resolve my problem, other then waste my time and try to make me do all the work they should have done?!

So go ahead and close it, I hope that it will say it was unresolved.

I'm not sure why I bother with your premium banking (lack of) service. It's a complete waste of time and money.