I got my Standard
Trust Bank Account in 2003 (now UBA)
For the larger part of the last
decade, UBA has been the most loved bank in Nigeria. It is fact also, that most
of us – most people, who got UBA accounts, did so without any form of
marketing. We walked in with our feet, got our forms and joined the queue at
the customer service desk.
The allure of UBA was easy. The brand
was slick, cool and the service was fantastic and with the slick ATM card, wao”
it was heaven. Most people who got UBA accounts did because it was cool – it
was almost like being associated with the UBA brand made one cool in extension.
All the cool kids in school then had UBA accounts and brand loyal folks like me
endured hundreds of “why don’t you have a UBA account?” type questions.
But all that,
is dead. Dead and gone. At the peak of its brand might, UBA
was like a new wife – it was the perfect and honest thing to do, it could do no
wrong. Any complaints about poor service were done in hushed tones. But not anymore.
Rumours of poor services started slowly, hush hush, and then gathered strength
when influential customers found the will to complain publicly. Then came the
internet banking crashes (which are still going on). Almost overnight, almost
every mention of UBA on social media was in relation to some form of bad
service. The mystique of infallibility, built on brilliant service is gone e.g.
http://www.nairaland.com/104490/beware-uba-worst-bank-nigeria/3
Eventually,
I needed to open a domiciliary account in one of their branch (Bode Thomas
Branch in Surulere, Lagos) to deposit a check I received from Amazon affiliate
programs. Let me be clear here, I have been running a domiciliary account with
another bank for the past six years and I never had any issues with them. I
work with a lifestyle firm in Lagos and my evenings and weekends I use it to do
freelance work with www.getafreelancer.com , www.elance.com
, promoting products on amazon.co.uk, clickbank and ebay on my various blogs
and newsletters and I get paid in check every month. I get to deposit close to £900 in check monthly and I needed to open a new domiciliary account
that I can deposit half of it and not touch it for a year that is the plan.
Did I start going from one bank
to another asking what their terms for opening a domiciliary account are ,NO , I
walk straight into my beloved UBA and it has been a nightmare.
The bode Thomas branch is on my
way to work so I decided to stop over and pick up a form, I met a guy at the
customer services, one Mr Joseph and I made inquiry about opening a domiciliary
account and gave me the details and also gave me a form to fill, passport,
utility bill, identity card and a form for 2 reference which I brought back the
next day, all signed with photocopies. I was told that the account will be open
within the next 48hrs and the account number sent to me. All this happen during
the third week of July 2013
I left the bank feeling all happy
and good with myself that my scheme of depositing half of my monthly pounds
earning into this new account was in the right track.
Then it start happening, I got a
call from a lady claiming to be my account officer and that she will have to
verify my address before the account will be opened, I told her to go ahead and
hope that will not delay the account , she said no.
On the 23rd of August 2013,
that’s a month after I summited my form and got a call from my supposedly account
officer. I went to the bank during lunch break which was the only free one hour
I can spare. I met the same Mr. joseph I summited my form to and he was like ,
oh I can’t remember your name , I told him and he said Yes, I ask why the
account hasn’t been open and nobody bother to call or send me a mail if there
was any discrepancy with my details.
I was informed that they had
auditors coming and so they had to stop opening new accounts and that now that
am here, he will instruct the account officer to proceed with the account. It
was then I informed him that one of my references gave me a call that the bank
called him to confirm, this was like 2 weeks ago before today.
I left after collecting the
branch phone number – 018448411 and promised to call the next day to remind
them about opening the account. I eventually called the next day and the
account was opened and email to me with my names spelt wrongly. How can my name
be spelt wrongly when I wrote it in block letters and my identity card even had
my names written on it – was I shocked? I replied the email about my name spelt
wrongly and up till now, no response on that.
I already have about 345 pounds
in check I wanted to deposit in that account, I now went back with the checks
and ask how I can deposit it. The same customer service guy starts giving me stories,
that my second reference has not returned and that it has to come first before I
can deposit the check but I can pay in cash if I want to but will not be able
to withdraw until the reference’s back. I now ask who was in charge of
following up with references after a month of applying for this account and I was
told it was my account officer that have not even met until now, I requested
for her phone number and was given a number which I called right there in the
bank close to six times but no response, I was left with no info on when I can
deposit the checks, when the references will be in or who was going to check
it, I stood there like a fool looking and left the bank.
I wrote a complaint email to
their customer complain department and within 2hrs I got a response from there
head office that the branch control manager has been brief concerning my
plight. Truthfully, the control manager from the bode Thomas branch gave me a
call and was all nice even pleading that I should come back and deposit the
checks. I told her am already in my office that I will be coming the next day
and was instructed to meet Mr. Joseph to accept it from me.
Today 30th of August
2013, I went to the bank to deposit the checks since have been instructed by
the branch control manager to come. On getting there, I went straight to Mr
Joseph and told him that have been asked to give him to checks for deposit , he
did not even look at meet and said I should go meet the lady at the back to
attend to me since she was the one that ask me to come. I went to the lady at
the back and it turned out to be the branch control manager.
She started by telling me that the check can
only be accepted when I make a minimum balance deposit of 80 pounds , then
after calling someone to confirm she then said is 70 pounds, that I must
deposit that in cash before the checks can be processed. I told her am just hearing
this and she said sorry for not telling earlier.
I sat there and until I stood up and left she
was still forming busy with her keyboard. Am not one that like to scream or
rain abuses at someone when am angry, if I had deposited the checks in my
current dorm account it would have been cleared now but I wasted one month
waiting for almighty UBA .
Thank God i have not deposited a
cent in the account, my current domiciliary account runs on zero minimum
balance but here UBA is telling me to always have a minimum deposit of 70
pounds in the account, that’s N17, 780.
I have since deposited the checks
into my domiciliary account with the other bank (am not mentioning the banks
name for reasons)
The
Questions I am asking UBA:
Why?
There are too many reasons why the
value of the UBA brand is falling. A quick sweep of social media tells a tale
of frustration, pain and disappointment from hitherto satisfied customers’
A Google search of variations of “UBA
Bank problems” will supply endless links of customer complaints. But what makes
these complaints worse is that the customer service reps at the branches seem
to have suddenly stopped responding to customer troubles. Even worse still, the
courteous staff we had come to associate with UBA all seemed to have moved to a
parallel universe, leaving behind clones who didn't inherit the all-important
customer first genes.
Problems?
Is it a
leadership problem?
Is it because
they are getting bigger comes with bigger issues?
Is it the
staffs at the bode Thomas branch surulere, Lagos problem?
Is it the UBA
hr problem?
Are they under
staffed?
I can’t seem
to understand what is going on with UBA.
Please folks, if you know where
the UBA I joined in 2003 has gone to ,
please tell them to return to UBA HOUSE – 54 Marina Street, Lagos
By Nath Ekanem
(You can search me on google , I also run www.natekanem.blogspot.com
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