Absolutely ridiculous wait for service provision

If I could have given a negative rating, I would have given -5 stars. Absolutely terrible service for a person who has been a customer of FNB for 25 years. I unfortunately lost my job due to the worldwide Covid19 pandemic and I had put precautionary measures in place well before the pandemic hit (around a year and a half before the start of the pandemic), in the form of pay protect insurance from FNB. Might I add that half of the people I have spoken to at FNB are not even aware of this service being provided at all. Not shocking considering the appalling service I have received.

What this service is, is self-explanatory – it protects you if you find yourself in a situation without pay for whatever reason. I have tried since May to have my claim for pay protection processed and every time I submit the documents they get lost somehow... The FNB application no longer works for uploading documents (since May to present day there has been no fix, which I find shocking in itself).

Being aware of this fact I proceeded to email all of my relevant documents to FNB to substantiate my claim at ***. This is where the problems got even worse. It took about 2-3 submissions before I received any response from FNB. Then I get a call from an employee saying that all they need from me is a U19 form. I worked for a foreign company based in the US, so this is not possible, and they said they understood and that if I obtained an affidavit explaining this my claim could be processed. I did so and sent it through so my claim could finally be processed. This was 2 months ago. After I email the documents, I am met with an absolutely idiotic reply from FNB asking me to send the through documents - which I had previously sent through multiple times. Nevertheless, I sent the documents through once more all in one neat email. Nothing happened after this so I called FNB again and asked what the status on my claim was, and the person speaking to me says they don't have any documents of mine can I please send them in. Now this is getting ridiculous, but I send the documents yet again and still nothing...

I have had no income since the beginning of the pandemic as my company closed down at the end of March - and we are now at the end of September and I am still waiting for FNB. I'm not sure how FNB imagines that I am able to live indefinitely with no income. I pay FNB every month to have this service and the safety of pay protection and they have happily taken my money (and are STILL taking the premium) but now when I make a legitimate, urgent and dire request for the service I have paid for, FNB is nowhere to be found. I find this absolutely shocking that in a time of such great need there is zero concern for the average person. I have gone into debt with no ability to pay or earn money, however if I had been provided with the service I paid for I would have been able to pay all debts and still have somewhat of a life. Not to mention the fact that I have obtained legal advice on the topic and have been advised that this is a serious contract law infringement – if you pay for a service there is a legal reciprocal obligation for that service to be provided to you.

I, much like many people in South Africa, have suffered severely because of this pandemic and all I am asking for is what I have paid for and am entitled to. I expected so much more from FNB, I always believed in this bank and recommended it to all, but now I am left feeling disappointed and dejected.