FNB is the worst provider for working abroad

I recently "upgraded" from my premier account after going abroad and from there the service has been terrible and lackluster.

I was contacted to arrange delivery for the new card and having been overseas (in the literal desert) for 3 months I advised them to specifically not cancel my current card as it the only transactional method I have as I do not have an NFC enabled smartphone at the current moment.

However these instructions were not followed (as usual) and multiple attempts to try to re-enable my card over the past few days have yielded no results. No other solution could be found and the so-called virtual card that was offered does also not work with 3rd party vendors.

The bankers seem oblivious to one's request as they rattle of the same scripts about calling the bank in situations where one is unable to (as South African cellphone providers have no rights to telecoms in Saudi Arabia), offering to have the card delivered at a cost of R700 (when even Amazon does not deliver here as we are in a small contractors camp in the heart of the desert) and offering no additional solutions unless pressed (eventually offering the virtual card which I had already attempted myself).

Stay away from these "higher" level accounts at all costs if you are working abroad as I have several colleagues experiencing similar issues with this absolute shamble of a service, especially on the private wealth side with their personal bankers seemingly never available or also unable to offer solutions to similar problems.