Business Clients Should Avoid Nedbank like the Plague

I have a couple of accounts with Nedbank in terms of business, investment, vehicle finance, etc. I have had these accounts for MANY years and have a large sum of money cycle through the business account every month. The moment we receive our bulk income we transfer it to a Just Invest account. We then extract funds from this account regularly as the month goes on. We rely on these funds to ensure smooth operations. This money needed to run our business.

On Friday the 15th of February, I tried to withdraw money from our investment account like I always do and was met with an error regarding FICA. I was not able to release desperately needed funds. I immediately got in touch with my “relationship banker” to discuss what the issue is. He pointed out that FICA had to be redone for both me and my partner. (Please keep in mind that we bought a vehicle through MFC a month ago and the business was FICA’d but not us.) I told the Nedbank “relationship banker” that I am utterly shocked that we did not get any communication or warning in this regard. They did not notify me whatsoever. Not via telephone, SMS, email or any other means. They simply froze the account without any notice. This is an active business account, not an insignificant personal account. You don’t just freeze a business account without letting us know. If Nedbank considers this professional behavior, it should be the very first red light to any potential Nedbank business clients.

First thing on Monday morning on the 18th of February we both rushed to a branch to get things done. When my business partner got there, he was told there is no hold on the account and he does not have to FICA. I was told exactly the same thing at another branch. However, I showed the consultant that I can’t release funds. She then explained she would redo my FICA while I am there. This was done on the day. Even though we have more than sufficient funds in our account, at this point, we are desperate enough to get cash to consider taking out a loan to settle bills. My partner went back on the 19th of February to ask a consultant to redo his FICA as well in the hopes that the account will be unfrozen. He redid his FICA and was told by the consultant that it seems like the issue is not with our FICA but with an internet profile number linked to an account we closed years ago.

Unfortunately, my business partner had to leave the country the next day still leaving us without our own money. I guess it’s easy to see how much this useless bank cares about higher net worth business clients. Trust me; they do not give your business any thought. It’s all about them and their profit. Don’t be fooled by this bank's empty promises and false sense of hope by assigning a “relationship banker” that can’t do anything to help you when their system makes mistakes.

Needless to say, I phoned the “relationship banker” again on the 20th and was told he would investigate. I followed up a couple of hours later, and he said that they had not received documents for my business partner and he has to go back for the third time. I told him that this is ridiculous and even gave him the consultants name that did the FICA at another branch. The “relationship banker” started to blame my partner who is out of the country, insinuating he did not go to the branch. I spoke to the consultant while he was in the branch to explain the issue. I was definitely there. He phoned them and they “confirmed” that he was never FICA’d yesterday, and they do not have any documents for him. He is out of the country for about a week meaning that because of multiple Nedbank faults and issues, our business is under severe strain. We are desperate enough that I asked if I can close all our accounts at Nedbank if they can just give us our money so we can continue trading at another bank. I was told no, this account is frozen. Again, just showing how much they care about you and your business…

It’s the 20th of February now, and I still do not have access to my own company money due to Nedbank’s incompetence. I don’t foresee access until my partner comes back and revisits the branch for the third time. I don’t have faith that it will be activated then either. It literally feels like Nedbank is doing everything in their power to get rid of us…

I have been a loyal customer since 2012 and have many millions cycle every year. I can’t wait for our investment account to eventually unfreeze so I can move everything to a bank that takes care of their customers. I have never expected much from this bank, but, the last thing I ever thought is they would cause my business financial strain that will take a while to recover due to no fault of ours. Nobody seems to care, and there is absolutely no sense of urgency, They will get paid through my banking and other fees if my account is active or not. Why would they go the extra mile to ensure my business does not take a MASSIVE knock… I have a lot of friends with business accounts; I will make sure I warn all of them. I will campaign against your inadequate bank as my new hobby.

BEWARE OF BUSINESS BANKING AT NEDBANK; YOU WILL REGRET USING THEM!