Don’t waste money on Private Wealth

If you’re ever considering FNB Private Wealth … think again. For R620 a month this is what we have endured just in the last 10 months: * My cheque card was expired by 2 weeks already and I still had not received my new card. After following up, they did not send it to the branch I requested but to a branch 35km away. After requesting that they get it to the branch I had requested, they decided to cancel the 1st card & issue a new one to be sent to the branch requested. This was done by one Thabo Al****. 2 days later he called me to say that the 2nd card issued had also mistakenly been sent to the other branch and that he had to cancel that one as well and issue a 3rd card but that while he was cancelling the 2nd card, he had mistakenly cancelled my husbands credit card!!!! Now FNB will tell you when you call there that they may not access your profile unless they authenticate you and you give them permission via the app. Yet someone this person went into my husbands profile and managed to cancel his card! It then took THREE WEEKS for FNB to send my husband a new card!!!! * 2 months later I try to pay for a purchase with my 2 month old cheque card (I mostly use my credit card) & it declines! I call the bank and the person tells me “you cancelled your card”. I told the person that I absolutely DID NOT do that and asked them to check who had actually cancelled the card. When they checked, lo and behold…. it was Thabo Al****! I asked to speak to him and he apologised and informed me that after mistakenly cancelling my husband’s credit card, while trying to issue a new credit card for him, he mistakenly cancelled my cheque card! That’s 2 cards “mistakenly” cancelled by this person in profiles he had no authorisation to be working in at those times. The worst part is he just kept quiet about my card and made no attempts to rectify it - I had to be embarrassed at a store in order to find this out. * Fast forward to now. On 3 September, I had an incident that made me concerned someone was trying to hack my phone. I immediately called FNB & asked them to lock my online profile, cancel all my cards & block any transactions. I waited 2 days then went into the branch to reinstate my online banking which required redoing fingerprints etc. I then ordered new cards via the online banking app. A few days later, after having to check myself if the cards had arrived because I had received no notification, the branch manager went to check and they had arrived (no answers given when I asked why I hadn’t yet been notified). I went to collect my 3 cards: 1 credit card, an Aspire cheque card (my cheque account) and a Private Wealth cheque card (my secondary card on my husband’s account on which I have 100% signing powers). I asked about how to activate and change pins and the lady at the bank informed me it was a quick and simple process via the app. And she was right - for the credit card and simple cheque card I quickly selected my pins on the app. But for the Private Wealth card, the option simply was not available. I asked my husband to check in his profile but he could not do it either. What we’ve now been told by Private Wealth is that they need to do a “pin read-out” over the phone and then I must get in my car, and drive to either an ATM or sit in a queue at the bank and change my pin there! So the basic cards with low fees provide me with the convenience of selecting my pins in the comfort and safety of my own home in a matter of seconds but with the Private Wealth card, neither the owner of the account or the user of the card have the ability to make use of such convenience. No, for R620 a month, I must be INCONVENIENCED & use fuel, drive somewhere & possibly endanger myself at an ATM (where I may also have to queue) or go queue at a bank branch just to change a pin!!!! I’ve had a card for this account since 2004/2005 and have NEVER had to go to such ridiculous lengths to just select / change a pin!!! Might as well cancel Private Wealth and downgrade to a simple cheque account where we will be treated better and pay less! “How can we help you?” Apparently you can’t. Just for perspective… as a 100% signatory I can transact on the account, withdraw, deposit, transfer, make payments, call in with enquiries AND set up a virtual card to be used for purchases with my device but apparently, choosing a pin for my new card that I WILL BE USING is a no no! #makeitmakesense