Poor and Inflexible Service from ABSA

Good day,

I went into an ABSA branch at the Chatsworth Centre on Saturday (08-01-2022) just after 8am to sign a Power of Attorney over my mother's account, amongst other things. I was asked (two-days prior) to AGAIN bring in my frail, 73 year old mother as it was her account in question. I was also asked to bring in her ID, my ID and my physical address. My physical address, as displayed on my utility account was:

Mahomed B xx Migmatite Mews xx Migmatite Drive Zwartkop Pretoria, Gauteng 00xx

("xx" being substituted for numbers)

The consultant called for the manager who advised that my proof of residence could not be accepted as I live in a complex and there are too many lines in my physical address. This exceeds the allotted FOUR lines ABSA has on their system.

I find this excuse ludicrous and pathetic. I asked the manager how other complex-dwelling ABSA customers in Pretoria and the rest of SA manage to do the same. He said he could not comment on other customers and maintained that he could not accept my proof of residence. The utility bill was the only document I had that displayed my physical address. All other documents, including the bank statement reflects my postal address.

The branch was well apprised of the circumstances under which I was applying for a Power of Attorney; that my mum was the account holder, that my father who previously handled all her affairs had recently passed-on; that I being the son, am applying for Power of Attorney to handle all of her affairs on her behalf like my father did AND that I was returning to Pretoria the very next Monday.

Despite this, I was asked to physically bring in my frail 73 year old mother whom I should mention did not have her breakfast or her morning medications just to be there on time, only to be told that due to some, stupid excuse we could not be helped. The consultant (Ronall Mari) will confirm my mother's physical state and how she fell asleep from exhaustion in the chair before her, waiting for all this to be over.

The best the branch could do is setup access to my mum's Mobile Banking App. and even this took nearly an hour to accomplish due to a series of UNEXPECTED ERRORs.

My mum, like most people her age is technologically challenged. She was a housewife. She (probably) has not conducted a single financial transaction in her life. I now have to resolve all of my late father's affairs, attend to his investments and wrap-up his estate whilst ensuring she does not get a raw deal.

ABSA is not a flexible bank. Their ability to read their client's unique circumstances and meet their needs, leaves much to be desired.

Disappointed.