WORST BANKING EXPERIENCE

I have a Discovery Credit Card, which account belongs to First National Bank. AFTER DECADES OF BANKING, THIS IS THE WORST BANKING EXPERIENCE I’VE HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, APART FROM THE LOSSES FNB & DISCOVERY EXPECT ME TO ENDURE!!! I live in Durban and was on business for a week in Port Elizabeth around 2 months ago. During my stay my cell phone, prescribed glasses, driver’s licence & credit card were ******. The cell phone & glasses were quite obvious for reasons that don’t require any explanation. Since my driver’s was in the cell phone case it is obvious that it was gone as well. The loss of the credit card is under question. How does one know that their credit card is ******? Below are 2, amongst others: • By checking every day that you have it on you • By realising that you don’t have the card when you need to make a purchase The latter relates to my experience. On arriving in Durban and wanting to make a purchase the next day I realised that my credit card is not with me. I reported it to Discovery and blocked the card. At that point I was concerned. I logged into my email, where I receive transactions on my credit card, as I didn’t have this access due to my cell phone being ******. I was shocked to see that many transactions had taken place, AFTER I LEFT PORT ELIZABETH. Both Discovery & FNB feel that you are liable for all transactions up to the time that you report your card ******. This means that if you decide to use your credit card after a month & you do not have your cell phone & you realise you do not have your card, as is in this case, you are liable for all transactions up to this point because transactions took place manually and by means of OTP numbers sent to your cell phone that a perpetrator is using at your expense.

I reported this to the ***** Department, at which point I raised point of many ‘insufficient funds’ messages & the ********** transactions. The person in the ***** Department informed me that a transaction of R45000 was being made & that there were insufficient funds. This was a clear indication that the perpetrator intended using up whatever was in the account. As can be seen, the perpetrator then broke up the amounts into R3000 – R5000 and hundreds, until the balance was cleared. I was informed that transaction/s took place due to an OTP being sent to my cell phone. I informed the bank that my cell phone was ****** as well. I was requested to submit an affidavit which I did. At this point, with the many ‘insufficient funds’ and the way transactions took place, at odd hours, etc., both Discovery & FNB, failed to flag these transactions and conduct any investigation, considering the unblemished records of my account.

On following up on the matter it was found that it takes ages till the ***** Division answers any calls. Furthermore they do not respond to any emails. This, to me, is an indication, like many companies, who refuse to have any written evidence from their side, to escape any form of liability and commit themselves. The famous telephone recordings will always be used, as we, the clients do not have access to this evidence. Further to that, both Discovery & FNB allowed transactions in excess of my limit, to be approved. I sent several emails to both Discovery & FNB but always received their standard reply with a reference number. Some weeks later the bank rep**** to an email I had sent much earlier on, requesting a copy of the affidavit. After resubmitting the affidavit, it took the bank under 2 hours to respond, referring me to their policy statements & essentially, passing liability onto me. It must also be noted that they referred to just one transaction, whilst there were many other transactions. To make matters easier, since I am not sure when my credit card was ******, I clearly requested all transactions that took place after I left Port Elizabeth be reimbursed. Part of the evidence I submitted were my flight details. It is quite clear that transactions took place after I boarded a flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban.

Since both FNB & Discovery have indicated to me that they are not serious about this matter, I have provided the following evidence to them: • Flight details - My flight from PE to DBN, Any transaction using my credit card, especially in PE, after this time was used by the perpetrator of the crime committed • Insufficient funds notification - 6 Messages that indicated insufficient funds • Proof of purchase of new cell phone - Since my cell phone was ****** I provided evidence of the purchase of a new phone, Calls made after my phone was not in my possession are not mine, including the OTP numbers that were accessed by the perpetrator • Proof of purchase of new tested glasses - Since my glasses were ****** I provided evidence of the purchase of a new pair • Proof of payment for a new driver’s license - Since my driver’s licence was ****** I provided evidence of the purchase of a new one • Copy of affidavit that cell phone, licence, glasses & credit card were ****** - Affidavit was submitted at the point of reporting the *****; Two weeks later, after I follow up on the matter, the affidavit was requested again; A month later reporting, the ***** Analyst, replies to an email sent much earlier, to her convenience, requesting the affidavit again; Under less than 2 hours later, the ‘Liable Letter’ was sent to me by Discovery, passing liability to me for payment for the item that was purchased online & positive identification of the person accepting delivery of the item • Credit Card Statement - I highlighted the transactions that are suspicious which should have been investigated in the first instant by Discovery & FNB, conducted at odd times and strange places, after I left Port Elizabeth, & some that can be traced with identification, e.g. Cash withdrawal; A major retail store – what was the item & why will I purchase it there?; A hardware stores – what were the items & why will I purchase them there? (I googled the store details from information on my card statement); A payment for subscription of a pay-TV contract (can be traced easily); A purchase at a very popular online shopping company that sends sms’s to track from initial order to final delivery (can be traced easily) • Cell phone records - I highlighted calls on the submitted statement which remain under question • It is quite clear that the bank did not conduct due diligence in this matter but was quick to pass liability by selecting transactions, selecting citations from their policy documents, etc

I have afforded the banks additional time to investigate, with a deadline before I proceed further, although all the respective departments were fully aware of this matter but dealt with it in a very irresponsible manner.