“Your Story Matters” but Clearly Not Mine

Dear Absa,

The nails in my coffin feel sealed for good, yet I refuse to accept this fate. For the second month in a row, I am fighting with your institution — the same bank that proudly claims “Your Story Matters.”

Before I explain my issue, let’s pause and reflect on that slogan:

Your – belonging to or relating to the person being addressed; the client, the customer.

Story – a narrative about people and events, often significant and meaningful.

Matters – to be important or significant.

When read together, the phrase should inspire trust and care for the customer. Instead, in my experience, it has only highlighted how far your institution has strayed from its own promise.

I feel trapped — not by my debts themselves (which I accept and continue to manage responsibly) — but by the crippling and unjustifiable fees your bank imposes. For example:

R150 for a missed debit order fee. How is this even reasonable? I am in constant communication with my creditors, yet I am penalised because debit order dates shift unpredictably.

Overdraft-related charges and high fees that I am hit with over and over again. These “penalties” quickly snowball and become worse than the actual debt I need to repay. Instead of helping me manage my finances, your institution bleeds me further.

Additional “administrative” charges that make it nearly impossible to recover, even when I’m making the effort to pay.

This is not banking — this is punishment. A client should not feel like they are buried in a coffin where every attempt to rise is met with yet another nail hammered down by their bank.

I am also unable to access additional funds due to complications on my credit card account, where the card you claim was never lost has now become another excuse to block me from breathing financially.

Two months of fighting with Absa, two months of broken promises under the banner of “Your Story Matters.” But here is my truth: my story clearly doesn’t matter to your bank. What matters is Absa’s story — your fees, your overdrafts, your gain. Perhaps the slogan should be changed to “Absa’s Story Matters” — at least then customers would know upfront whose side you are on.

I am not asking for favours. I am demanding fairness, reason, and acknowledgment of the impact these practices are having on real people’s lives. Right now, instead of feeling supported by my bank, I feel chained, suffocated, and punished.

I want this matter addressed immediately. These charges need to be reviewed, and I want a resolution that reflects the values you publicly claim to uphold.

Because if my story truly matters, then it’s time for Absa to prove it.