BS
Bianca S

1 reviews | Active since Oct 2017

08 Mar 2018, 13:08

FNB's freezing of account due to non submission of tax info form which was not received in the 1st place

I opened a new Business account on 23 February 2018, with the intention to start operating my business through this account on 1 March 2018 . On Friday, morning 2 March I effected an efts from an ABSA account to the FNB account as additional start-up capital. That same afternoon at 15.36, I received a phone call from the FNB Foreign Tax Form Department ( ********** 709)with an opening statement:"I am going to freeze your account" apparently due to not completing a document required. When querying the call center representative as to what form this may be and that she should contact my business relationship manager as the account is brand new, she became quite cheeky and said that since I had not completed this document that she was going to freeze the account. When I asked her to reveal her name, she put the phone down on me. No sooner had she put the receiver down on me, an email came through from the ********** to my email which I retrieved on my phone. Once in the office on Monday and after further investigation as it stands: I have 15 days from 1st notification to become compliant. My account was only opened on the 23 February 2018. I had not received a 1st Notification, only once she put the received down on me did a notification come through. All these details with regards to dates and times are documented on a cellular device. I have been in contact with my Business Banker and she has just informed me now, Thursday ,8/03/2018, 12h48 (almost 1 week later)that the hold has eventually been taken off the account ( the completed document was sent back to FNB and my Business Manager on Monday) . My experience has been stressful to say the least . The R50k transferred from ABSA is still in "suspense" due to the FNB account having been frozen. That money will only go back into the originating account apparently after 7 - 10 days WITHOUT interest. I am not convinced that FNB is on top of their game in terms of after sales customer service. These call centers are a NO GO as you cannot get through to them and their representatives are INSENSITIVE and UNQUALIFIED to handle matters.

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Replies (1)
FNB (First National Bank)
FNB (First National Bank)'s reply08 Mar 2018, 13:43
Official

Good day Bianca Sweetman,

I truly regret taking note of your experience; thank you for bringing this to my attention. Please accept my deepest apologies.

Your complaint has been referred to the relevant department for investigation and resolution. I have requested that they provide feedback.

Complaint reference number ***NF was issued for your complaint.

Regards,

Hello Peter Complaints Team

*** (option one)