What’s the russshhh???

I contacted Absa last week Tuesday, 1 June to apply for a personal loan. It was a telephonic application. Towards the end of the application the lady who was assisting me advised that there was an error message appearing on her screen and that she would require one of her colleagues to assist me in concluding my application. She requested me to hang on for 3 minutes and I did so. She then advised that her colleagues were all busy and that she would call me back. That was shortly after 8am in the morning. By lunch I had not received the call and decided to call back. I was advised by the consultant who answered that she would request the lady who was assisting me to call back and finalize the application. I did not receive a call.

On Wednesday the 2nd of June I decided to call Absa again and was advised at this stage that there was not even an application noted on the system. The consultant assisted me in restarting the process which we concluded telephonically and requested that I send through my documents. I did so on Wednesday morning shortly after concluding the call with her. I received a reference after sending my docs.

On Thursday I called to follow up on the application and was advised that my application had not been assigned to anyone as yet but that my documents were received. I was told that there is a turn around time of 1-3 days for the consultant to finalize the process regarding the checks.

On Friday 4 June, I again followed up and was advised that the lady dealing with the application would still review and that I need to remember the turn around times that are applicable (1-3 business days).

Today is Tuesday the 8th of June, a week since I app**** for the loan and I am no closer to having received any feedback. I am shocked again at the service with which I have been provided. I encountered the same issue with Absa last year when applying for a micro loan to assist with my brothers varsity registration fees. It had taken them so long to finalize the application that we had missed the deadline date to pay the registration fee.

Each time I call to follow up I’m told that my matter is with the consultant and that she will call me back.

If you’re applying for a loan with Absa you need to be prepared to WAIT! There’s no rush when it comes to service.