MAKING FUN OF THE DISABLED

CEO First National Bank. Care at FNB.

Dear Sir,

On Monday, the 26th of June My uncle and I went to the FNB Kokstad branch in order to sort out issues with his bank account, we were treated very poorly and met with flippant and impatient behaviour from the bank teller.

My uncle suffered from a stroke in 2019, due to this stroke my uncle is unable to speak, his arms are weak, and he has stress/anxiety induced seizures. I accompanied him to the bank in order to speak for him and support him, and we were directed to a female teller, in position number 7.

The teller was incredibly impatient and inconsiderate, even after I informed her about my uncle’s disabilities – she continued being flippant and rude, at one point she even snickered at him, when was having trouble signing and placing his fingerprint. This caused my uncle to feel incredibly anxious and uncomfortable, it was clear to see that the woman’s treatment towards him increased his anxiety and stress levels, which could have led to him having a seizure, thankfully it did not.

Personally, I felt quite uncomfortable as well due to her lack of consideration, when one approaches someone who works in customer service you expect to treated fairly and with some respect, but instead we were met with the opposite. this is something that cannot and should not continue, this has made me and my family very disappointed that in a well-established bank such as FNB instances of ableism continue to make appearances. I fear that someone else with more debilitating disabilities will meet with the same treatment my uncle was met with and worry for their mental health and self-esteem.

I demand that action be taken against this rude and obviously *********** person. And I also demand an apology from her with immediate effect both verbally and in writing.

John Taylor. (For and on behalf of Peza Ncokazi.)