NBK sudden credit card cancellation
Few days ago I got an email from one of the companies I deal with saying my credit card was declined. I reached home and tried again my NBK Master Card, it failed. Logging in to my NBK Online account I was not able to find my card there. But that’s OK I thought, NBK have such bugs every now and then. Calling the bank I was shocked they guy said “Your credit card is canceled”! What how and why? He said you owe us 17.5 KD, which even drove me more crazy. How on earth could you care about 17 KD when you have just canceled my credit card? Eventually he told me that all accounts with no salary must have their credit cards canceled as per new decision made by card issuing department! (I will get to my list of replies at the bottom of this post). I asked the guy to open official complain, and he was kind of shocked to hear me say it for some reason.
Anyways, next early morning a lady calls asking about the complain, and then she went on to explain that the Central Bank of Kuwait have issued that order and all banks must comply. I asked about what’s the time period to apply it, and why there wasn’t any prior notification. She simply said it’s a huge over head on us to call each customer to tell him about it, and we will be responsible during that period for any abuse of non-canceled cards. So the bank simply decided to throw the matter here on the customer, to let him figure it out him self (the hard way). I told her do you have any idea what would happen if I was outside, checking out of a hotel with a bill of 1000 KD when I found out about it? Ofcourse she replied with the usual “NO Sorry Mr we don’t mean to” kind of stuff they do best.
So today I went to showtime to pay cash after my credit card was canceled, and they confirmed they received large number of similar cases just this month. So if you are in a similar position, be ware. Since this is the Central Bank decision, why is it the bank that I hold guilty here? Well, in addition to not giving me any sort of notification, no phone call, no SMS, or not even a simple email, which can be automated if they heard of such technology, I have the following list of items as to why the bank could’ve been more considerate before canceling my card:
- I have been a regular client of the bank since I started working. Only when I joined a KIPCO company I was forced to move to Burgan Bank (talk about some Anti-Trust here, but it’s not the U.S. alas) and they know it. Even at that time, my social and rental allowance used to go to NBK all the time. And all the time, my balance was smooth, no salary deduction, no loans, nothing.
- I always clear my credit card before end of month, and it rarely touched 100 KD.
- When they canceled my card, it had 17.5 KD on it, while my balance was going on steady 4 digits number for months. So they could’ve easily locked certain amount, lowered credit card limit temporarily, or call me to do something about it.
- I have already joined new job and tied my salary to NBK. It’s just that the first salary takes time to come in.
- I called the lady after to request a refund for my credit card, as it was canceled and I already paid for 1 year. 3 months left on the expiry date. I mainly called to see how they react not to bother for few KDs. Guess what? She never called back it’s been more than 24 hours and we are going into the weekend now.
- A friend of mine who never had salary before still has his NBK credit card running! So it’s not immediate cut of all accounts, they could’ve tried to be more careful how they do it then.
- They claim they are contacting their clients gradually regarding the matter. It’s been more than a week since my card was canceled and I am still waiting for this SMS message to come. Guess they used local mail instead. I will make sure my grand children read it.
So have you had any similar issue? If so, what was your bank reaction? I am hoping some banks took it on their responsibility to be a bit more proactive.
UPDATE: You can read this older post from K.TheKuwaiti with load of useful comments, don’t waste them. In summary, NBK employee got in defending his bank that they can’t call or notify each and every customer (not even by SMS), and others noted that Al-Ahli had a good customer service, they and KFH have both notified their customers by phone and/or SMS. I have to say, I am shocked by the two banks. As I know, Al-Ahli is pretty bad, and KFH usually are bad as well in those procedures. I was naive thinking they all should learn from NBK.
UPDATE 2: A friend of mine told me something that makes the matter worse. He said this law was made by Central Bank of Kuwait last year, and was supposed to be enforced this Jan or Feb. I am waiting for link from him, but he seems pretty sure, and if that’s true, it means banks had several months to prepare and notify customers, but they preferred to make the most out of it and then cut us off. I tried to search Q8Ba7th and this is the closest I could get. A news back in March 2007 where Central Bank ordered banks to treat credit cards like ordinary loans, and thus ofcourse, you need salary to have loans. The story also raises the point about non-salary income. Why would the government assume all people’s income is through salary? They want to encourage free open business and then they do this. So stock owners, real estate business owners, free lancers which sometime make loads of money are all cut off? So what should I do if I am doing free open business?
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Comments
Intlxpatr: Thanks for your strong support. It is outrageous really, and if we were in a country like the US, my lawyer would secure my retirement on this case I guess.
But TIK (This Is Kuwait) and experience have showed most of the time the only thing you waste is your voice and time.
If the bank president is not aware of his bank’s actions on such matter, well we’ve got a hell of a bigger problem then here.
I wanted to make this post to first alert people about the matter, and second as experience sharing with others about how NBK does things, and 3rd for better alternative suggestions or similar case sharing. Is there another bank that did notify customers?
In regards to customer focus in Kuwait, I recall again the Aramex Shop & Ship manager Mr. Murad Bdair and how he opened his door to all customer complains. I also should note that Showtime, which I am failing to pay them now called me twice yesterday from Dubai. Once I picked up, a nice apology voice message was there telling me about the problem and the service disconnection. Again today I got an SMS from them apologizing on the disconnection of service due to payment problem.
This is from Showtime, who I kept complaining from, and who are reacting to my pay debts, as opposed to the bank who should be looking after his clients, but instead unplugged the cable.
now am wondering! I tried using my card few days ago and it kept declining. I thought I over did it on my shopping. I go online and my card doesn’t appear. The next day its there online and I am not over my limit. I need to check on that.
I am starting to hate NBK.
NBK did the same to my mastercard. They left the visa probably because it was maxed out, although they debited my account and paid some of it off then reduced the limit.
I went to the bank and they said that I can go to the main visa branch and explain my situation, or I could let them ‘freeze’ a certain amount in my account against my visa, to keep my visa working.
Oh and I wasn’t informed in any what way about any of this. I found out when I checked online. No sms, email or call.
Not acceptable! I personally had an AWFUL experience with NBK. I have been using mini-visa for 2+ years and the expiration date was jan 08. When i called to renew they told me that they no longer issue mini-visas! i was NEVER informed and i had an exam to pay for (around 300KD) with a fixed deadline for the payment and there simple answer to me was: “but u have a mastercard, use it”!
Morons.
there was another blogger who had the same problem
reaad the comments really enjoyable
http://k.thekuwaiti.com/index.php/2008/01/22/letter-to-nbk/
shopa: They do have problems with listing card online, but that shouldn’t stop the card from working. And if the card is canceled, there is no way it will work again, you need a new one.
MiYaFuSHi: Man really bad. Don’t they think how many good customers they might be losing? But I am still waiting for different bank user cases. It seems only NBK customers are complaining! As per Showtime staff comment, he said it wasn’t specific to one bank.
Doll: ! That is dumb. They should apologize and try to fix it, not show you as small brained or something
As you might have read in the comments on my post .. I got the same excuse that they couldn’t call each customer and inform them.
I explained to them the process that it would have took:
1. Query customers + canceled
2. Filter result to phone
3. Send SMS
However, it has become aware that NBK is too busy running after awards to worry about its end customer.
And, I am also awaiting a full refund of my credit card fees. I paid for a service that was terminated prematurely. If they don’t follow through, I am sure Visa/Mastercard won’t be as nonchalant about Banks taking registration fees and canceling cards.
K.TheKuwaiti: Thanks. Yes I have read all the comments, and their response is worse than their act. She claimed they are starting to send SMSs, however I didn’t hear a single customer who got one.
I am waiting for a refund also, but my charge was only 20 KD and it had 3 months left. Still, it’s a matter of customer right. We got affected and all they got is net profit instead of refund.
If they don’t settle it, we should all send letters to MC and VISA.
My problem sounds so ridiculous I hope you get a laugh. My employer (a substantial local company) issued an NBK cheque to me, using my normal names, e.g. “Henry Monkhouse”. But because my bank account uses my Civil ID full name, e.g. Henry Cedric Monkhouse, the bank would not accept the deposit of the cheque into my account, saying that there might be several Henry Monkhouses in Kuwait!! Even if I somehow had got hold of a cheque issued to another Henry Monkhouse, then that would still be a legitimate deposit, so why reject the cheque? After all it is traceable, so any fraud would be an “own goal”. Even if the cheque had been issued to my full name, there still could be another person with the identical name, so NBK’s logic unravels. NBK are making themselves look inflexible, illogical, and totally lacking the “customer service” they say they have.
Peter: Well, cheques are something I never fully understood or liked. I always thought of this. How can they make sure it’s me? A name is never a unique identifier, and in Kuwait, we have a high trend for certain names, which makes it more likely.
It’s both sad and funny what happened to you, but next time try to make sure you get it as it’s in the Civil ID and save the time :)
What happened to the cheque now?
The cheque will be marked with my middle name and initialled by my company, just an unnecessary rigmarole, and the loss of a few days. This will save the bother of cancelling the cheque and re-issuing it.
What is ridiculous is that I am trying to DEPOSIT money in the account, which the bank should be glad of. As you mention, local names are perturbations of a few core names anyway, so the exercise of using an extra name has no meaning here anyway. The issuer of the cheque has fulfilled his obligation to me as soon as I sign a receipt for the cheque, so if I lose the cheques subsequently then that is my problem, or if someone fraudulently deposits it in their account then that is traceable, and should be easily dealt with. I actually thought the bank should have thought this through, and I believe the bank should re-think it’s policy, and this time think it through.
Peter: Well, thank God at least it’s going through now. Sorry to hear all what you had to go through to get the cheque.
Thanks for sharing that experience to help us avoid it.
I AM ONE OF THE NEW CUSTOMER OF NBK. THE REASON WHY I OPENED A NEW ACCOUNT WITH THEM IS BECAUSE I HAVE SHIFTED TO A NEW COMPANY. MY COMPANY IS DEALING WITH THEM SO IN ORDER FOR ME TO GET MY SALARY A LITTLE EARLIER I HAVE DECIDED TO OPEN MY ACCOUNT WITH THEM. OF COURSE SINCE MY SALARY WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THEM EVERY MONTH, I HAVE TO CHANGE ALSO MY STANDING ORDER FOR MY CAR INTALLMENT. THAT MEANS I I AUTHORIZED NBK TO TRANSFER CERTAIN AMOUNT TO PAY MY INSTALLMENT. WHEN I WENT TO SUBMIT MY STANDDING ORDER TO THEM, I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT THEY HAVE CHARGED ME KD10 FOR THE STANDING ORDER. AND I WAS MORE SHOCKED WHEN THEY HAVE STARTED TRASFERRING MY INSTALLMENT THEY HAVE CHARGED ME KD2 FOR EACH TRANSACTION EVERY MONTH.
SO WHAT I DID I WENT BACK TO THEM I ASKED THEM WHY YOUR STANDING ORDER IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND EVEN ONLY TO TRANSFER MY INSTALLMENT THEY ARE CHARGING KD2 FOR IT WHILE IN ABK THEY ARE ONLY CHARGING KD5 FOR THE STANDING ORDER AND KD00.500 FOR TRANSFERRING YOUR INSTALLMENT.
CAN ALL THE BANK HAS STANDARD CHARGES. THIS IS SOMETHING LIKE UNUSUAL TO ME. AND ALSO THEIR SERVICES IS NOT THAT GOOD, YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR A LONG QUE JUST TO GO AND INQUIRE ABOUT SOMETHING. NOT ONLY THAT, YOU HAVE TO STAND ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH CHAIR TO ACCOMMODATE YOU. I MEAN ALL THESE EXTRA CHARGES THEY ARE DEDUCTING FROM YOUR ACCOUNT, DOES NOT DESERVE ANYTHING.
SO MY FRIEND BEFORE YOU DECIDE YOURSELF TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH NBK JUST MAKE SURE YOU INQUIRE FIRST, OTHERWISE YOU WILL ONLY REGRET WHEN YOU FIND OUT THAT THEY CHARGE YOU MORE EXTRA THAN THE OTHER BANKS.
Thanks Rowena for that long informative comment.
I am surprised to see huge difference in standing order prices. I didn’t know that. I will be sure to check those things anytime I want to make a transaction.
For the long queue, I am surprised to read this I have to say. As from my experience, NBK is the only decent bank having tried Burgan, BKME, heard of ABK, and seen CBK once
BASHAR, YES THIS IS MY ADVISE TO YOU. PLEASE CHECK WITH THEM FIRST BEFORE YOU START YOUR TRANSACTION.
WELL, REGARDING THE LONG QUE, WELL IT DEPENDS MAY BE ON WHICH BRANCH YOU WENT. I AM ONLY GOING TO THE SALMIYAH CINEMA BRANCH, AND I FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGHT PLACE AND A CHAIRS TO ACCOMODATE THEIR CUSTOMERS. AND ALSO B-4 YOU CAN GO AND HAVE TRANSACTION INSIDE YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR PURPOSE TO ONE OF THE RECEPTIONIST INSIDE AND SHE WILL RECORD YOUR NAME AND AFTER THAT SHE WILL ASK YOU TO WAIT. TO WAIT MEANS IF YOU DON’T FIND A VACANT CHAIR MEANS YOU HAVE TO STAND FOR A LONG TIME. WELL THS IS WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED WHEN I VISITED THE PLACE 3 OR 4 TIMES ALREADY.
ANYWAY, I THINK MOST OF THE BANK HAVE BAD AND GOOD POINTS IN THEIR OWN. ANYWAY THIS IS ONLY A COMMENT.
ROWENA: Well I don’t like to be defending them, but I guess this branch is exceptionally bad for some reason. I went to Dasma and Mishref before. Non have more than 10 seats perhaps, but the queue is moving fast usually.
Bashar, that is outrageous. If you have the time, don’t let this go. Write a letter of complaint to the president of the bank, documenting (briefly) your status as excellent credit risk.
For a bank to change policy and NOT TO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS is outrageous. It is irresponsible. It is against any kind of banking custom in the world.
I am also with NBK. I have never, not once, received a monthly statement. Banking in Kuwait, with this kind of arbitrary rule by decree is terrifying. No NBK card for me (I was considering it just for the convenience.)