FNB-SUB STANDARD, REGRESSIVE CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND SERVICES

I am an FNB customer for 35+years. I am working abroad. April 27, 2024 – I made a deposit into my South African account. No funds made it into my account. I was genuinely puzzled … 3 weeks later, I managed to trace it and deposited it back into my foreign account. May 27, 2024 - all my debit orders were suddenly in arrears - email notifications reflecting unpaid premiums / bills. Again strange.... I asked a relative to transact to one of accounts …. it bounced back. June 2024 - I opened my FNB app … all accounts I transact on were now reflecting zero balances with no trace of any prior activity nor can I request statements which was alarming. I went onto secure chat … verified my phone by following voice prompts, conversed with agent/s (these were several of them over a period of 2-3 weeks) who told me my accounts were frozen due to inactivity, another stated that all my accounts were closed. I called this number +*** from abroad on my foreign number, needless to mention several calls later, different agents, different service departments (KYC, customer services, on line banking to accounts section) - not to mention the time wasted on the automated system to actually reaching an agent) to the price of approximately R2000 later and up until today my accounts remain restricted. This is after providing all the required documentation required to be FICA compliant. July 2024 - No single person was able to assist in above. My accounts remain frozen. I was also told to visit my branch personally to fix these issues. No one appears to follow the email threads. I pay administrative fees each month. This should facilitate and ensure a smooth process. Summary 1. No prior notification or request from the bank and its affiliative sections or support or customer service provided prior notification of any non-compliance to my banking application, email or during a personal visit at the bank which I duly perform each 6 months. Accounts were “suspended”/”frozen”/”hard hold” with no warning! 2. The bank (branch code 220229) through an intermediary stated in no uncertain terms they cannot assist, however all I needed was advice from a consultant on how best to navigate through this which was turned down twice 3. Emails going back and forth to several sections of the FNB and KYC (know your client) – no single person is actually following any thread of the emails. I was sending the same documents to different personnel within the same department and each time asking for guidance on form completion! Agents that I’ve spoken to continue to maintain that my accounts have been “refreshed”. No one is aligned. Quality and customer satisfaction is not a priority! 4. Formal complaint to *** and 7 working days later… accounts are still frozen with no tangible resolution nor recommendation from any source. On a personal level: 1. My medical insurances have lapsed 2. All payments have to be paid manually …. Requiring proof of payments going back and forth to different sections 3. My South African mobile service payment has also lapsed 4. Freezing of my accounts has set in a cascade of events which has caused undue stress, anxiety and reversed my priorities for the past six weeks Advice to one and all : Choose a better service provider than FNB