Capitec ignores and mislead customers

FAILURE TO ATTEND TO COMPLAINT , THEN CHARGED R595 WHEN REQUESTING CAPITEC HEAD OFFICE TO ASSIST OVER UNANSWERED COMPLAINT. I made a complaint to Capitec's complaints department about being unable to access my savings account on line. In response I was asked for further details, but the problem was not resolved, and no explanation was given, nor was I informed that no further attention would be forthcoming. I emailed my complaint again and received the same treatment. On my third attempt I did find someone who, when unable to resolve the problem, explained that the Capitec system appeared unable to accommodate my particular difficulty, as I was using a SA ID book and not an ID card. This prevented verification of my identity when I app**** on line to confirm my identity by way of the selfie method used by Capitec, since the Capitec system through its own fault was unable to access my ID record at Home Affairs. However, when filing my complaint for a fourth time the problem was finally sorted out after many months of waiting and the poor service by the complaints department.

By that time I had been unable to use my account for about a year. Nevertheless Capitec debited my account with a service charge during all the months that I had been unable to access my account. So I submitted a further complaint requesting that the service charges in question be reversed. However, I could receive no reply, despite sending several further emails requesting a reply. I even tried sending the complaint afresh. But still the complaints department did not have the courtesy to reply, not even when I emailed saying that in the absence of a reply I would report the matter to a senior level of the bank.

With no reply forthcoming, I contacted Capitec head office on line . There I was channeled to an online chat system which required me to type details of the matter I was reporting, namely that I could obtain no reply whatever to my repeated complaints concerning the unwarranted monthly charges.

I was then diverted to some legal-assist programme, even though I had requested assistance from the Capitec head office only about an administrative problem, not a legal one. I was also informed that the charge for this would be R15 but that it would be refunded.

I therefore provided my credit card details and was attended on line by way of typed questions and answers. This was a slow moving process and took possibly an hour to complete, at the end of which I became aware that no assistance could be provided by way of this forum, since it was unable to help in obtaining a reply to my long-awaited complaint about the service charges.

I then had the ugly surprise of finding that my credit card account had not been refunded the R15, as promised, but it was debited with R595.

How can the head office of a bank so fail to assist a customer, who has a genuine complaint that is simply about non attendance to numerous emails ? Instead it misleads the customer into using a totally unnecessary and inappropriate platform that cannot provide the help that was sought and that was sought from head office. Itself. To compound matters, the customer is misinformed that a charge of R15 is to be made, and that it would be refunded, but instead the customer is unknowingly charged R595 , a totally inappropriate charge for requesting Capitec head office to attend to a straight forward matter . Furthermore, the assistance given for that considerable expense is of no assistance at all.