STANDARD BANK ISLE OF MAN HAS NO DEDICATED ***** DEPARTMENT – I FOUND OUT ONLY AFTER BECOMING A ***** VICTIM

I am a long-standing Standard Bank customer in South Africa. I did not independently choose Standard Bank Isle of Man. I was recruited and persuaded in South Africa by Standard Bank representatives to open an offs**** account with Standard Bank Isle of Man.

I trusted them because I had banked with Standard Bank for many years. The offs**** service was presented under the same trusted Standard Bank brand and banking relationship. Standard Bank’s marketing promoted its offs****/international banking services and even advertised a “***** line – Report a NEW ***** incident”, including an International contact number.

Naturally, I believed that if ***** ever occurred, I would have access to proper and immediate ***** assistance.

I discovered the reality only when I actually became a victim of *****.

When I identified the *****ulent transaction, I immediately called the ***** line we had been given. I was told that they dealt with South African customers, had no access to the Isle of Man customer database, and could not assist me with my offs**** account.

I was effectively left without the ***** assistance I believed Standard Bank had represented as being available and had to wait until the Isle of Man operation was available the following day.

I subsequently discovered that there was no dedicated ***** Department handling my offs**** *****. I was told that these matters were handled by International Payments.

By the time action was taken, more than 14 hours had passed from my initial ***** notification. A SWIFT recall was then sent, and I dispute that the initial recall was appropriate for the ***** situation.

I suffered a substantial financial loss.

Had Standard Bank South Africa told me when recruiting me that there was no dedicated ***** Department available to deal with my offs**** ***** in the manner I had been led to believe, I would NEVER have opened this account.

What makes the situation even more disturbing is what has happened since.

I have taken my complaint through multiple levels within Standard Bank, including Executive Complaints. Instead of answering the central question about the representations made to me in South Africa and the ***** assistance advertised to customers, I am repeatedly told that Standard Bank Isle of Man is a different jurisdiction and that I must pursue the matter in the Isle of Man.

But that completely avoids my complaint.

I did not approach an Isle of Man bank. Standard Bank recruited me in South Africa. Standard Bank representatives persuaded me to open the account. It was the Standard Bank brand and marketing that I re**** upon.

Standard Bank Isle of Man is not some unrelated bank that I happened to find myself. It operates within the Standard Bank Group.

My complaint is therefore about misrepresentation and material non-disclosure during the recruitment and marketing of this offs**** banking relationship to me in South Africa.

To this day, I am still asking a simple question:

Why advertise a ***** line and provide an International ***** contact if, when an offs**** customer actually becomes a victim of *****, the dedicated ***** response the customer reasonably believed was available is not there?

Instead of answering this question and taking responsibility for how I was recruited and what was represented to me, Standard Bank continues to tell me: Isle of Man – different jurisdiction.

Other South African Standard Bank customers considering offs**** banking should ask one question before opening an account:

If I become a victim of ***** outside normal business hours, who will actually act immediately to protect my money?

I wish somebody had told me the answer before I opened my account.