Tardy, disappointing, unacceptable lack of service

On the afternoon of 22 May I presented my Capitec debit card to pay for a purchase at Makro. The transaction was declined due to 'insufficient funds available'. Knowing that my account should have had more than enough funds for the transaction I asked the cashier to try again. She got the same result. I immediately logged into my account and sure enough there were no funds available. I didn't have time to investigate so I asked my son to pay. When I got home I identified five transactions that were not made by me.

The following morning, 23 May I went to the Cresta branch of Capitec and advised the person who attended to me that there were five ********** transactions in my account which had cleaned my account out. He logged into my account and informed me that they were internet purchases. I told him that they were definitely not mine. That since recently reopening the account which I had previously closed nearly two years prior I had made no internet purchases. He turned the screen and showed me that two if the transactions had been fully processed and three which appeared separately at the bottom of the page were pending.

The gentleman immediately put a block on my card and said that I would have to pay R 65 for a new card. He then made a phone call and reported that the transactions weren't mine. After the call he told me that I would be contacted in five to seven working days. I asked for a reference number which he gave me.

I didn't get any calls from Capitec but four of the five transactions were reversed. The one that hadn't been was one of those that had still been pending. I think the most recent one. I waited a few extra days before returning to the Cresta branch again and queried why the fifth transaction hadn't been reversed. The gentleman attending me first checked my statement and then made a phone call. I was told that there had been some query or communication with the processing bank/institution and that it should be sorted within the next five to seven working days. I again requested and was given a reference number.

After at least seven days, in fact longer if I remember correctly I returned to the Cresta branch to enquure why I had not received any communication or a refund. The gentleman who I first saw on 23 May happened to be assigned to assist me. He immediately logged into my account and made a phone call. It was a Monday. He told me that the bank had communicated with the bank/institution on the previous Friday and that I could expect it to be sorted out within the next five working days. It wasn't and I had received no communication from Capitec.

On 20 June, almost a month since first notifying Capitec, being very dissapointed in the service that I had received from Capitec I sent an email to the 'customer service' email address. I got a response as follows :

Good day Andy

Thank you for your email.

I truly regret learning of your negative service experience. Please accept my sincere apology for your experience.

Please be advised that I have forwarded your query to the relevant department for them to assist you accordingly.

Should you have any further queries you are welcome to contact our Client care department on the number *** or visit your nearest Capitec Branch.

Kind regards

Keenan Van Reenen Agent: Client Care Admin Service Support

I thought that at last I would be told what the situation was and get some action. Not a chance. I have had no response since. Not a word and no refund of my money. I even sent them a sarcastic email thanking them for the non existent service and informing them of my intention to post here. No response even to that. Wow, that's real poor service

I can ill afford to loose the money involved but what annoys me more and really disappoints me is the couldn't care less attitude and the fact that the amount in question had not yet been fully processed when I reported the ********** activity.

I have deliberately made no further deposits to my account and unless this matter is resolved satisfactorily I will close the account and try to find a bank that does have customer service and takes care of their clients money.

I will obviously no longer recommend Capitec Bank to anyone.