Terrible Experience with Standard Bank's Student Loan Without Surety

I had high hopes for Standard Bank's Student Loan Without Surety as my last resort to fund my postgraduate studies. However, the experience I've had with their service has been nothing short of a nightmare.

I submitted my initial application on 15/01/2024 as per their instructions, promptly sending in all required documents via email. Initially, I received an automated email promising feedback within 3 working days. Little did I know that it would be the last I'd hear from them. Despite numerous follow-up emails and countless hours spent on the phone, I was met with nothing but silence. It seems impossible to reach a human being dealing with these applications directly. Every attempt to speak with someone was futile, as I was consistently redirected back to the same unresponsive email address.

After a month of waiting, I decided to try my luck with different branches, only to be met with the same cold response. None of them were equipped to handle "Student Loan Without Surety" applications, and I was redirected back to the same dead-end email address. Even escalating the issue through the call center yielded no results; my complaint seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Frustrated and desperate, I submitted a second application on 20/03/2024. Once again, I diligently provided all the necessary documents as requested, only to receive an email six days later asking for the very same documents I had already submitted. Despite complying, there has been no progress on my application, even after the promised 3-day processing period has elapsed.

If Standard Bank happens to come across this review, I implore them to provide an explanation for their abysmal service. If they are unable or unwilling to provide the loan, a simple notification would have sufficed instead of leaving me hanging for over two months with no resolution in sight. This level of incompetence and disregard for customers is simply unacceptable.