Nedbank’s Disappointing Service

Title: A Test of Patience - Nedbank's Disappointing Service

Date of Visit: 11th and 12th of December, 2023

Branch: Nedbank at Mall@reds and Centurion Mall Branch

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

On Monday, the 11th of December, I visited a Nedbank branch located at the Mall@reds with the intention of opening a business account. My experience, however, was far from what I had anticipated from an institution of such repute.

Upon arrival, I was confronted by a rather cold and dismissive receptionist who informed me, with a noticeable lack of courtesy, that the branch did not have business consultants on-site and that I should connect with their call centre. Her demeanor suggested that I was supposed to have this number readily available, which struck me as unprofessional. When asked for the number, she seemed visibly inconvenienced, which only soured my impression of the branch's customer service further.

Hoping for a better experience, I visited a larger branch at the Centurion Mall the following day. Yet, my optimism was soon dashed when I was informed that all their business consultants were on a lunch break. Heeding their advice, I reached out to the call centre.

The call centre experience proved equally unsatisfactory. I spent over an hour on the phone with a consultant trying to open an account, only to be asked to find someone at the branch to send over a confusingly voluminous document stack. Upon returning to the Centurion Mall branch and inquiring about the business bankers, I was told that they had returned but were too busy to assist me.

Eventually, a business consultant did agree to help me, showing me where to sign and promising to send the forms back on my behalf. She assured me that the account would be open soon and that she would contact me with further assistance. However, a week later, after investing almost two hours on the phone and three hours at the branches, I am yet to hear back from anyone at Nedbank.

Since then, I have made numerous attempts to get in touch, sending multiple emails and calling the call centre again, all to no avail.

Nedbank's slogan is "Making things happen". Regrettably, my experience with them has been a stark contrast to this proclamation. The process of opening a business account has proven to be disappointingly challenging. I earnestly hope that my experience is an isolated incident and not reflective of Nedbank's overall service. My patience, however, is waning, and I look forward to a resolution soon.