My name is Margaret Wangui from Kasarani-Kenya. I am a victim of losing money 3 times with my Equity bank account. Last year November 2017, I had lost my documents (both ATM and my ID). I reported for the closure of my card and still lost money; just seated in the house and a withdrawal of around 5,000 was made.
The first withdrawal was done at night where I called the Equity customer care and who confirmed to me that they have already closed my card and advised me to fill in a dispute form from Equity Bank. The second transaction took place the following day in the morning before going to report to the bank.
I was given the dispute form to fill and was told that they will follow it up nothing much was done to resolve my case. I took the contacts of the guy serving me at the bank where I kept making follow ups to no sign of being refunded. I gave up when I realized am losing more money with credit and I am becoming a nuisance to the guy.
I later replaced my ID and my card and again this same month on November 2018, a withdrawal of 2,009 was made from my Equity bank account at 11.00pm. I again called the customer care and clarified to them that I hadn’t lost my documents this round but someone managed to withdraw money from my account without my consent.
I waited on the line till a credit worth sh. 200 was over. I recharged my airtime and called again. A lady received my call but kept insisting that I was the one who did the withdrawal and probably forgot. I explained the withdrawal was done in less than 1 hour so it’s a ridiculous suggestion that I forgot having withdrawn the money.
She hesitated closing my card giving me warnings that If I was the one, I should just confess because ones she closes the card, I can’t use the card. At this point it was annoying since I realized am wasting my time trying to convince her it wasn’t me and kept quiet. She promised to close the card and since this sounded like Déjà Vu to me, I remembered I had an account with Barclays so I transferred the rest of the money to my Barclays Bank account.
The following day I reported the case to Equity manager in Kasarani Equity Bank. He seemed busy but still insisted to attend to me. He answered like 3 unofficial calls without excusing himself as I am narrating my ordeal. I kept responding to him thinking he is talking to me and I apologized when I realised he was talking on the phone.
From the phone, his eyes were on the desktop the whole time giving me divided attention. To be honest, his services were unsatisfying and felt belittled. However, in the end, He said and I quote, “I have had a lot of cases of the same from my customers, in the end, some are refunded and others aren’t”. He then sent me to fill the dispute form and told me they will follow up. I went out counting more loss for wasting my time going there and decided to share this to the public.
I might have lost very small money but having worked hard in this tough economy, every coin does count. I may not have the resources to sue anybody or even the institution but I am sure through this message people will be aware and take caution.
#SpreadTheWordandHelpSecureSomeone’s Savings
