FNB Private Wealth downgrade repeatedly failed - 2025 App request still not investigated and R699/month fees continue

I am extremely disappointed with FNB's handling of what should have been a straightforward account downgrade. After paying approximately R699 per month for Private Wealth, I have now had to repeatedly contact FNB and visit a branch in person, yet the central issue of my complaint remains unresolved.

This is not simply a complaint about a delayed downgrade. The main issue is that I downgraded my account through the FNB App in April 2025, received confirmation in the App that the downgrade had been successfully completed, and FNB nevertheless continued charging me Private Wealth fees for approximately the next 17 months.

I am asking FNB to investigate its own records and determine what happened to that 2025 downgrade instruction.

What happened

In April 2025, FNB gave me a pre-approved offer through the App to upgrade to Private Wealth. I accepted the offer and received the new Private Wealth card on 22 April 2025.

Shortly afterwards, I decided that I did not want to retain the Private Wealth account. Within approximately one week of receiving the card, therefore around 23–29 April 2025, I used the FNB App's downgrade function to downgrade the account.

I clearly remember selecting the downgrade option and receiving confirmation through the App that the downgrade had been successfully completed.

This is important: I did not cancel my card and I did not close my account. I specifically used the account downgrade function.

I subsequently continued using the same physical card, which remained active. The fact that I continued using the card does not mean that I instructed FNB to retain the Private Wealth package. My instruction was to downgrade the account/package, not to cancel my banking relationship.

Despite the App confirming that the downgrade had been completed, the Private Wealth fee continued to be deducted from my account.

I accept that I should have noticed and followed up on this sooner. However, that does not explain why a downgrade instruction submitted through FNB's own digital banking platform and apparently confirmed as successful was never properly implemented.

I also became more concerned about the possibility of a processing issue after a family member separately told me that she had experienced something very similar with FNB. She had gone to her local FNB branch twice to request a downgrade, yet the fees continued to be deducted and the account was still not downgraded. Hearing that another customer had apparently experienced repeated difficulties getting a downgrade implemented made me more determined to follow up on my own case and establish exactly what had happened to my original 2025 downgrade request.

What I am asking FNB to investigate

My primary complaint is therefore not simply a request for a goodwill refund.

I want FNB to establish, from its own records, what happened to the downgrade instruction I submitted through the App in April 2025.

FNB should have electronic records of actions performed through its digital banking systems. I have specifically asked FNB to investigate its available:

App activity and digital audit records; product/account maintenance records; account conversion and downgrade records; service requests; profile/product changes; and any other internal records relating to my account around 22–30 April 2025.

I do not believe it is reasonable for FNB simply to say that there is no evidence because I personally no longer have a screenshot from an App transaction that occurred approximately 17 months ago. The transaction took place on FNB's own system, so the appropriate place to investigate it is FNB's own records.

I then had the same problem again in September 2026

After all the previous fees and the unresolved issue, I decided to deal with the matter personally.

On 12 September 2026, I went to the FNB branch in York Street, George, specifically to have the account downgraded.

I waited for more than an hour before being assisted.

The consultant processed the downgrade on her tablet. After it was supposedly completed, I specifically asked her for a reference number. She told me that she could not provide one and that the downgrade could take up to 10 days to process.

Ten days later, the downgrade had still not been processed.

It was only after I followed up with FNB again that the downgrade was finally completed the following day.

Given that I had already experienced a failed downgrade through the App in 2025, it is extremely concerning that I then experienced essentially the same problem again after making the request in person at an FNB branch.

FNB's handling of my formal complaint

I subsequently submitted a formal complaint to FNB Customer Care and copied the Private Wealth team.

The Private Wealth team responded on 22 September 2026 under reference CAS-***-F3V7Q5, stating that they had attempted to contact me.

I explicitly responded to Sinethemba Mnisi explaining that I do not always answer telephone calls and that I prefer communication by email, particularly because I want the matter properly documented in writing.

Since then, I have received no substantive response or outcome from the Private Wealth team.

I also contacted FNB George again to request an update.

The response I received, which prompted this HelloPeter complaint, stated that contact had been successfully established and that the complaint was being investigated by the Private Wealth Team, but also stated that the George branch complaint was officially closed.

That is not a satisfactory resolution to the underlying matter.

The branch downgrade eventually being processed does not resolve my principal complaint regarding the failed April 2025 App downgrade and the Private Wealth fees that continued to be charged thereafter.

What I expect FNB to do

I am asking FNB to now properly investigate and resolve this matter rather than repeatedly closing individual interactions without resolving the underlying issue.

Specifically, I require:

1. A proper investigation into my April 2025 FNB App downgrade request, using FNB's own digital and account-maintenance records.

2. A clear written explanation of what FNB's investigation establishes regarding that downgrade request.

3. A calculation of all Private Wealth fees charged from the point at which my original downgrade should have taken effect through to the eventual downgrade.

4. A full refund of those disputed Private Wealth fees, including the most recent month's fee, because I had already instructed FNB to downgrade the account.

5. Confirmation that no further Private Wealth fees will be charged now that the downgrade has finally been processed.

Most importantly, I want FNB to address the actual 2025 incident, rather than treating the matter as merely a September 2026 branch complaint.

Final comment

I have been an FNB customer and have dealt with FNB through its digital channels and branches, yet I find the handling of this matter extremely disappointing.

I was paying approximately R699 every month for Private Wealth, for an account that I hardly use, while having already instructed FNB to downgrade it. I then had to wait more than an hour at a branch in September 2026 to submit another downgrade request, only to discover ten days later that this downgrade had also not been processed until I followed up.

I have now made the effort to formally document the history and give FNB every opportunity to investigate it internally.

I am not asking FNB to rely on my memory alone. I am asking FNB to check its own systems and determine whether the April 2025 downgrade instruction was submitted and confirmed through the App, and to address the financial consequences of that failure.

I would appreciate a substantive response from FNB's Private Wealth/complaints team, including the outcome of the investigation and the refund due, rather than another generic acknowledgement or closure of the branch complaint. I also prefer communication via e-mail.

FNB complaint *** Private Wealth case: CAS-***-F3V7Q5 *** ***