“This debit from Access Bank has caused me a lot of inconvenience and hardship. I have been unable to pay my bills, meet my financial obligations and access other banking services.”
Those were the words of a Lagos-based business owner as she recounted how Access Bank failed to return the N700,000 that was wrongly debited from her account on June 27, 2023.
The Access Bank customer, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that she had tried a payment with her Access Bank card at a Point of Sale (PoS) terminal on the said day without success.
WWW.SEARCHNG.NG – Search on Sells.ng Nigeria's First Ecommerce Shopping Search Engine ...For More About This Post: Access Bank Can’t Trace N3m Stolen From Customer’s Account
“I kept getting an error message stating, ‘Transaction declined’. Even when I tried it again on another PoS terminal at the same merchant, the result was the same,” revealed the Lagos resident.
A receipt showing the declined transaction
Knowing she might be debited, the customer immediately contacted her bank to report the declined transactions to forestall an erroneous debit.
“When I called their customer care number, I was told that the transaction was not successful, and that my account had not been debited,” she told FIJ.
WWW.SEARCHNG.NG – Search on Sells.ng Nigeria's First Ecommerce Shopping Search Engine ...For More About This Post: Hacker Steals N124,000, Empties Account After GTBank Restricts Customer’s Access
However, to her dismay, she discovered that her Access Bank account was debited for the failed N700,000 transaction.
“I checked my account statement online and saw that the money was debited. I called Access Bank customer care again and complained about the unsuccessful transaction debit.
“I was asked to send an email with my account details, transaction details and a scanned copy of the transaction receipt. I did as instructed and received a reply acknowledging the receipt of my email with a case number assigned to me.”
Even though she did everything the bank asked for, this customer still has not got back her N700,000, over three months after the failed transaction.
WWW.SEARCHNG.NG – Search on Sells.ng Nigeria's First Ecommerce Shopping Search Engine ...For More About This Post: N570,000 Kept in Lagos Entrepreneur’s First Bank Account Can’t Be Found
“I have not received any positive response from Access Bank regarding the status of my complaint or the reversal of the debit. I have called several times and sent several emails, but all to no avail,” she said.
“I also visited the Access branch near me, but they told me they could not help me, and that I had to wait for a response from the head office.
“It has been over three months since the incident, and I am still waiting for a resolution. This is unacceptable and unfair.”
In response to FIJ’s email sent on Wednesday, the bank said the complaint was under review and “feedback would be communicated once complaint has been resolved”.
The post Customer’s Transaction Failed, but Access Bank Kept Her N700,000 for 3 Months appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.