Complaint: Payment made to closed Capitec account – Funds not returned

Complaint: Payment made to closed Capitec account – Funds not returned

I made a payment from my FNB account to a Capitec account, only to later be informed by the Capitec account holder that the account had been closed.

I immediately contacted FNB to find out what the procedure is in such cases. To my shock, I was told that the funds would go into a suspense account and would never be returned to me.

FNB then advised me that if I wanted to attempt to retrieve the money, I would need to pay a R350 fee, wait 10 working days, and even then there is no guarantee that the funds will be returned.

On top of that, the consultant still asked for my ID number again even though the call had already been verified and approved via my FNB app, which I refused for security reasons.

This is completely unacceptable. I am the sender of the funds, yet I am penalised, charged extra, and made to wait with no guarantee of getting my own money back. Banks should not be allowed to operate like this – it feels like nothing more than a money-making scheme at the expense of customers.

I expect FNB to:

Explain why my funds cannot be immediately reversed when the receiving account is closed.

Reverse my money without unfair fees or unnecessary delays.

Review these exploitative practices that leave customers out of pocket.

Banks are supposed to protect customers’ money, not make it harder for us to get it back.