FNB: How can we NOT help you?

FNB has been making a lot of noise in the press about how they are helping customers deal with the fallout of COVID-19. I have been a loyal client of FNB for 30 years and a business customer for 20 years. My business has a property loan with them and we ****il now) have never missed a payment. We are in the tourism space and have lost 100% of our income from April for the remainder of 2020. Understandable but unforeseen.

This is how FNB has not helped us: 1: We contacted our so-called "relationship manager" immediately pre-COVID (out of foresight) and asked if we could restructure our debt to place our expensive overdraft onto our almost paid-up bond to free up capital to see us through the looming crisis and increase cash-flow. He said no, but could not give a valid reason. 2: Once COVID-19 & the lockdown hit, we asked for a 3-month payment holiday on our bond repayment and were told that this is not possible. 3: We app**** for COVID-19 relief through the banking App and were told that the bank would pay our staff on a weekly basis for 15 weeks from the Oppenheimers' SA Future Trust, but that it was in the form of a loan and the business would have to pay it back. 4: I tried to activate the Payment Protection Insurance that I have been paying for 25 years on my personal FNB credit card. The policy documentation clearly says "in the case of total loss of income if self-employed" but the App spat out that I do not qualify as I am self-employed. Right? 5: I app**** for COVID-19 debt relief on the banking App for my personal credit card (the same one as above) and was granted a 3-month payment "holiday". Needless to say, it is a loan, payable over 60 months, with an interest rate 2% above Prime. Meaning that I will repay 25% more than the "relief" I am getting.

My next step is the FAIS Ombud. This will the second time I have taken this bank to the Ombud. The last time I was successful and was paid out plus damages. Let's see what happens now.