FICA Incompetence | Business Account | Zero Customer Service |

Out of sheer frustration and getting nowhere with FNB I have resorted to hellopeter. There is no account management, no communication or co-ordination between the teams, no idea how to fix data capture errors, no accountability, no acknowledgement of mistakes made, no apology, the list goes on. How is this bank still in business?

My list of complaints:

1. Harassment regarding FICA compliance The harassment started at the beginning of May, with constant bombardment of emails, SMS and app notifications regarding FICA review, with the threat that if not done within 2 weeks the account would be frozen. This continual and non-stop harassment is totally unsolicited.

2. Online FICA process gives clients no other options other than to DISPUTE or ACCEPT/ CONFIRM I duly followed the process online as I did not want my account to be frozen, and when I found some data capture errors on the account, I did not want to confirm that all account details were correct (which they weren't) but the only option available online was "DISPUTE". There was no option to correct the account details or to send a message requesting assistance.

3. No warning that hitting DISPUTE automatically freezes the account Clicking DISPUTE was a huge mistake. My account has now been frozen for over a month. No amount of contacting FNB has resolved the dispute. I have explained via phone, online chat and email that I simply wanted to correct the data capture errors, I am NOT disputing the compliance/ FICA details on the account.

4. No centralised/ co-ordinated account management, no continuity of communication Instead of communicating with one person or team so that they have the full history and can then move forward with a resolution, each time I communicate or correspond with FNB I have to start from the beginning again. After spending over an hour with online chat, I was told I had to be referred to another department and they couldn't pass on the chat information to the next team. So that hour was a complete waste of time for both me and FNB.

5. No information from FNB on how to unfreeze the account Once the account was frozen, no matter who I spoke to (online chat, phone, email) they couldn't give me an answer on how to freeze the account. I have literally spent days of my time trying to resolve this. 2 x online chat (2hrs), 3 x phone calls (3hrs), many emails (3hrs)

6. FICA requirements constantly change Every time I received a request from FICA for information or a document, I duly sent it but the account remains frozen. When I contact FNB they then ask for something else. This has been going on for 6 weeks. I have literally sent dozens of documents (all of which FNB should already have on record) and still there is no definitive answer on what is required to unfreeze the account. This process has been incredibly frustrating with 1 step forward 2 steps back instead of UPFRONT providing clients with the list of FICA documents required.

7. No acknowledgement of complaints or communication Each time I communicate it seems to go into a black hole. I have tried sending complaints, escalations etc but have to date received no acknowledgement or even receipt of such.