Misconduct by std bank and their unfair holding of my money

To whom it may concern. My name is Wamkelwe Dlamini (ID Number 811 ********** 083) and I am urgently seeking help from you on a matter that in my opinion has gone on for far too long. I am the managing director at Siba Gebashe Consultancy Grop (trading as S and G Logistics). On Tuesday 22 August 2017 I walked into Standard Bank Sandton City branch with only one intention. I wished to open an account that would be functional for my business services. I provide quite a range of services in and around the mining sector. To be more specific I buy and sell coal, provide advisory and procedural work, manage labour and equipment etc. I also provide logistical solutions were I overlook and broker logistics work. On the 22nd of August 2017 I was very forthcoming and clear with the branch manager as well as the employee that opened the account who goes by the name of Justice Sangweni. I informed them that I would need to withdraw a large amount of cash on Friday the 25th. They asked that I provide proof of residence and at that point I stated to Justice Sangweni that I work between Durban, Witbank and Johannesburg and therefore didn’t have permanent accommodation at that particular point in time. I was able to give them my gym membership statement from Virgin Active as well as a hotel that I stay at from time to time. I also played open cards and informed them that the address on the statement is my previous address and I no longer reside there. This was the only proof I could provide as I do not have a utility bill Justice took the documentation to his superior who then decided that instead of using the statement from Virgin Active it would be better to use the proof from the hotel. The account was opened immediately and the following day I received funds to the value of R1 140 000. The account was active in terms of transacting on the internet and withdrawing inside the bank. The bank card that I was issued was giving me problems at the ATM and also refused to let me swipe. This then lead me to return to the branch on Wednesday the 23rd. It was at this point that I voiced my concerns and also requested that the funds be available for withdrawal on Friday. In addition, I was introduced to the head teller Claudette who would assist me with the large withdrawal of between R 900 000 – R 1 000 000 on Friday. When Friday came I was then told that RMB (where the funds had come from) had not been available to confirm the funds they were apparently “offline”. As upsetting as this was, I understood that it was a new account and they were perhaps trying to safe guard themselves. We agreed that I would receive the funds on Monday upon confirmation from RMB. On Monday the 28th August 2017 I was then given another story. As you can imagine, this was now becoming frustrating and very upsetting. I was now unable to conduct my business accordingly. I then spent the whole day at the bank on Tuesday and was told that they are still awaiting confirmation from RMB. At this point my dealings with the bank were with the head teller Claudette and the branch manager Mzafa. They seemed sincere in wanting to assist me but we were not getting anywhere. Later on that day a lady by the name of Maria Ngcaweni introduced herself as the Head of Banking and offered to help me as she had seen me at the bank every day since I had opened the account. She advised that she was not happy with the proof of residence that I had provided as she called the hotel and they informed her that I had last stayed there on the 12th. She said she needed other proof of residence. I asked what proof would be sufficient and she advised that I bring a lease agreement and she would block the account until I provided such proof. I left to try and arrange for what she was asking and this is when I received calls from a service provider I had transferred money to who informed be that their account had also been blocked. Later that day it came to my realization that my personal account had also been blocked. This bothered me but I did not think much of it as I assumed everything would be sorted out once I provided the lease agreement that was requested. On Wednesday the 30th October I sent a message to Maria informing her that I was worried about the other accounts that had been closed as well. She instructed me not to come to the branch as she would not be there but she assured me she would find out why the other accounts had been closed and revert back to me. I waited all day with no correspondence from her so I decided to go to the bank with my business partner as well as the client I was supposed to transfer the money to. To our surprise Maria was present at the bank so we all sat down together to try and get to the real issue. She again reassured me that upon submitting a lease agreement this whole issue would be sorted out. I submitted the lease of a business associate where I sometimes stay should I be in town on Thursday 31st August with all the supporting documents. To my surprised, I was then informed by the branch manager that the situation was out of their hands and had been moved to the ***** department. I assumed that the ***** department would contact Simeka, the client that had sent the money, and do some due diligence of their own. The client then got a hold of me to enquire why their name was being dragged into something to do with *****. I called the ***** department and was advised that the person handling the case was Yvonne and she contact me. She informed me that RMB would be pulling the funds and I should forward her my invoice. My client contacted me once again and informed me that Standard Bank had requested quite a few documents from them and questioned if I had done something wrong or if I was in some kind of trouble. I told my client to the best of my ability and knowledge what I deemed was the status quo. On Friday 1st September 2017 my client Simeka chose to pull the funds because they wished to protect their name and integrity as a company instead of having it dragged through the mud for absolutely no reason. As upsetting as this was for us as a company, we understood where they were coming from. We decided to find an alternative way to transact should we wish to continue to do business together in the future. Miss Mkhize (a service provider of mine) who banks with Capitec Bank has had her account stopped without any notice and later closed with no warning, explanation or formal notice. Capitec Bank claim to have closed the account upon request from Standard Bank and they have now closed it and informed her in an email that “it will never be open again”. They have accused her of being involved in ********** activities and have not responded to any of her emails requesting clarity after they closed her account. Standard Bank has instructed Capitec to return the funds to Simeka who bank with FNB. This is puzzling because not only did Simeka sign an agreement not to hold FNB responsible for any loss incurred but to date the funds have not been sent back to FNB. All in all this has been a very unfortunate and terrible experience for us as a company and there are multiple issues we are yet to receive clarity on. It is now the 15th of December 2017 and Standard bank and all other banking institutions involved have merely just stopped all correspondence with us. There is apparently a case of ***** but no one is able to say who the ***** allegation is against. Emails have gone unanswered and telephone calls have not been answered. I am urgently seeking assistance from you as this matter has gone on for far too long and I strongly feel that it needs to be handed over to people in higher places. Please help to get the person who is responsible for ruining so many lives to just own up and be held accountable. Everyone at Standard Bank is now shifting the blame and stating that they do not know the full details of the matter. These are some of the issues that I wish they would address and give clarity on. I have raised these points in countless other emails but no one has ever responded to me. 1. When a client or anyone pays you money for services rendered, those funds belong to the service provider. In this instance I was the service provider who received the funds in questions and I have a right to do with those funds as I deem fit. As the service provider in this case, I transferred funds to a few other people some of which are also service providers to me. One of those people was the lady with the Capitec account in question (Lihle Mkhize) and out of the people I transferred funds to only the Capitec account was flagged and frozen and not the others. My question is why? 2. The correspondence email from Capitec to their client Lihle Mkhize clearly stated that their conduct is based on instruction from Standard Bank not FNB. It states that Standard Bank confirmed ***** and that Standard Bank (not FNB) is pursuing the funds and has opened a case with SAPS. There was absolutely no mention of the funds being returned to FNB. 3. Standard Bank says they cannot decide what Capitec does with the account but they are the ones who deemed that the account was involved in ***** and gave instruction to flag and block the account. They must therefore share their findings with Capitec and declare why they deemed the transaction between the lady at Capitec and I as ********** when I was willing, able and wanted to make payment to her. I also questioned why they deemed this one as ********** when I made other payments where the accounts weren’t flagged. If they still deem it as ***** then the sensible and logical thing to do is state why and give supporting evidence. On the contrary, because it is not ***** then they must equally instruct for a release of the account in question. 4. Item 4. On the indemnity signed and sent to FNB by my client (Simeka Capital), FNB is clearly indemnified and I quote “4. Accordingly, I hereby indemnify FNB and undertake to hold FNB harmless against any loss, damage, legal liability, legal costs (including costs of an attorney on an attorney and client scale) or expenses of whatever nature FNB may suffer, incur or become liable for due to any action being taken against FNB by any person or entity as a result of FNB returning the available balance, as disclosed above, to me.” In the indemnity it states that FNB is only responsible for bringing back the money that was in the Standard Bank account which was R ********** .83. If FNB (and not Standard bank) is pursuing the funds from Capitec then my question is whose instruction are they acting on? They have not been issued instruction or mandate by my client or anyone. If they are pursuing the funds why have they not made it known to the client or anyone that they will be embarking on such an exercise when in actual fact they have been indemnified? 5. Brenda Stewart from Standard Bank has said that the lady from Capitec (Lihle Mkhize) must liaise with Capitec and that’s of extreme contradiction as in Capitec’s own correspondence to her it states that she should take up the matter with me and I quote “As Standard bank have confirmed ***** and have opened a case and are also pursuing the funds”. Once again there is no clarity nor is there any consistency in these stories and findings. On many occasions Standard Bank has refused to give correspondence and say they cannot share third party information. How are they “providing third party information” if I’m the main key participant in this matter? I’m the one who transferred the funds to her, thus dragging her name in this, "implicating" her, causing her account to be frozen and possibly closed forever. How am I not to share this information with her? How am I not entitled to information and updates on the processes being followed when the very bank she is seeking answers from says she must seek information from me and that it’s acting under Standard Bank’s instruction? 6. According to the investigation conducted by Yvonne she did not find any *****. She found irregularity in the proof of address. How can anyone find ***** when the transaction was fully legitimate and confirmed by the payer? May they please point out exactly who is responsible for dealing with this matter to its finality? How do we contact them so we can hold them accountable? What is the status quo of this matter? When will it be finalized? 7. If FNB is perusing the funds may they clearly state in writhing to us or their Client Simeka Capital and indicate how long it will take. The person responsible for this whole process must come out of the woodwork because what has become clear is that everyone just wants to shift the blame and not be accountable for anything. They must state whose mandate or instruction they are acting under. Thank you for taking your time to go through my letter. Your assistance with this matter would be highly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind Regards Wamkelwe Dlamini Managing Director **********