FNB, inefficiency at its very best!

I have had a FNB credit card for 40 odd years. I used to use my credit card account as a savings, always maintaining a positive balance. Some years back the interest on the card was reduced to almost nothing despite a positive balance. I have been paying a fee of R50 every month to maintain this card despite having a positive balance. Being a pensioner and not being able to afford to throw away money I undertook to cancel my credit account and card. Easier said than done!

I presented myself with ID and card at the bluff branch to cancel my account. I was told that they could not close my account and pay the money in it out as cash! I was told that I should pay most of my funds by internet banking into my Standard Bank account leaving R150 in the credit card for costs still to be deducted. I jumped through many hoops and forms were filled in etc. Banking account details were provided for an account to transfer the funds into and these details were filled into the account closure request form by the lady. I was told that the process of closing the account could take up to two weeks! I was told by the lady assisting me that she would follow up the process and inform me by way of SMS. After assuming everything was in order I left the branch. Subsequent to that I received another statement the next day indicating the same monthly service fee and a cost for the transfer that I did. I assumed this ordeal was finally over.

About ten days later I still had received no communication from the bank whatsoever After many costly mobile calls (I am a pensioner) my utter frustration necessitated a further costly trip to the Bluff branch. I was forced to stand in a long queue outside the bank yet again. This was not a pleasant experience given my poor health! I eventually went inside and after calls from the branch to the credit card division etc. I was told that they said it would be sorted out but can take up to 14 days and the 14 days were not up yet. I left hoping this would be resolved.

It is now a month later and after absolutely no communications from the bank I phoned the credit card division to find out what was going on. After a torrid time of many broken phone calls I was told by them that the account was still active but they could not tell me what was going on unless I installed a FNB app on my phone. I refused to do this for an account that should have been closed weeks ago and was then told that I would have to go back to a FNB branch. I reluctantly did this, now being beyond the point of being furious! I was forced to stand in a long queue yet again for a long time wearing compression stockings on both my legs due to my medical condition. Eventually I was let inside. I was assisted by a very pleasant lady who experienced similar frustrations with the credit card division having phone calls being dropped in the middle of her conversation. It seems the FNB branch does not have any direct connection with the card division. After much time and the provision of a reference from the bluff branch to the card division for the cancellation form they sent them the lady was told that the cancellation was not undertaken because of the fact that they had not been send a bank statement for the bank that they needed to transfer the remaining funds into. This was despite that fact that my Standard bank details were filled in correctly on the closure form. I refuse to provide a standard bank statement, this is my private affairs and has nothing to do with closing a account. The small amount of money that was left has landed up costing me a lot of money in fuel and mobile calls. The consultant was promised that the account would be closed backdated to the 16th April when the closure was done.

To crown it all, I have just received another credit card statement now indicating a still active account and another R50 deduction now leaving a balance of R19.

This is third world baking at its worst! Stay well away from FNB. There is a very valid reason for all of their extremely poor ratings on hellopeter!