Disgusting service from Nedbank

In April 2018 we app**** at the Nedbank Pavilion branch for a student loan for my granddaughter who was in her second year of university. We met with Andile who assured us it was an easy process and the fact that we were in different provinces wouldn’t be a problem. We started the application process and submitted the required documents. About 3 weeks after the first submission, we enquired on the status with Andile and got no feedback. We had to enquire about 3 times before we got an answer. Nedbank then required more documents, which we submitted. This dragged on for the remainder of the year and my granddaughter then received an sms to say the application had been declined and no reason was given. When we enquired with Andile, she reported that it was because the application had taken so long (failed to mention that this was in part down to the lack of communication from Nedbank).

At the beginning of 2019, my granddaughter went into the bank and met with Andile Mkhwa**** and asked if we could do an application for both years with all the new documentation. She assured us it wouldn’t be a problem. Everything was submitted and about a month later, she got an sms to again say the loan had been declined. It took about another month to get a clear reason from Andile and Nedbank. The reason then turned out to be that you cannot apply for 2 years in one year.

We then started the application again. The hurdle we were met with this time was that we were told you may only do one loan application per year and my granddaughter’s university ran on a semesterised program consisting of 2 semesters. We spent all year attempting to get an invoice from the university for the whole year (which is impossible for them to generate due to the set up of their academic year). We eventually managed to get a schedule of fees from the university which was on a university letterhead, stamped by the university and signed by the head of department, still this was not accepted.

While the loan application process is absolutely out of touch with the way the institutions actually operate, the biggest problem we encountered was both a lack of communication from Andile and all we dealt with at Nedbank as well as when we did receive communication the attitude we received was disgusting, as though the staff were doing us some kind of personal favor. Any communication we did receive was begged for and required at least 2 emails before it was responded to. We involved the branch manager at the Pavilion, Puseletso Lepheana who was rude and dismissive; when we requested contact details to deal with the student loan department directly, we were told “Kindly note as per below I will mail them not you” . We involved Maggie Naicker from Customer Services who actually did nothing at all. She said she was involving the regional manager – we haven’t heard a word from them.

I have had my account with Nedbank for 15 years and was treated with zero customer service. When I sent them an email telling them I would be closing my account, I got no response. No phone call and certainly no apology for the appaling service. The only correspondence I have received to date was Maggie Naicker telling everyone on the email trail that she would be closing the matter due to alternative arrangements being made i.e. me closing my account.

I am disgusted at the blatant lack of communication from Nedbank which has now left us unable to pay my granddaughter’s 2019 fees without applying for a different loan at another institution. Nedbank clearly does not need business which is why they are able to treat long standing customers so badly with no communication even when told I would be closing my account.