First National Bank, South Africa (FNB) offered to assist in gaining access to Covid-19 relief financial assistance - Can not access the allocated funds although visible in the account

First National Bank, South Africa (FNB) offered to assist in gaining access to Covid-19 relief financial assistance.

However, after having app**** and obtaining approval from FNB, confirming the allocation of a Covid-19 Relief extension loan, and making the funds visible to both the bank and the client, the money cannot be used to pay bank fees. This is ascribed to an “unknown internal problem” by FNB.

A carefully maintained credit record is now tarnished by the bank who is unable to access the funds they allocated, while it is also not accessible to the client to whom it was granted.

This has now been unsolved for three months, due to an ..."unknown internal problem" at FNB. This delay from FNB to resolve the problem, caused unpaid banking fees from the money allocated for this in the Covid-19 relief loan (still visible in the account).

FNB reported escalating the problem to their management, but no explanation, or course of reparation has been forthcoming. A suggestion according to FNB is for the client to make payment arrangements (affecting the clients credit record already affected by their delay) to pay the bank fees that should be paid from the fees available and currently visible in the Covid-19 Relief account, since FNB has no access to the fees provided by FNB due to a FNB unexplained internal error. FNB can according to them not rectify the negative effect on the client's credit record (created by a FNB delay in resolving the internal problem).

Trusting FNB in maintaining a carefully guarded credit record is now proving to be a serious mistake. It appears there is no answer to the question FNB asks in its marketing campaigns: “How can we help you?”