Standard Bank refused to investigate the loss of about R2 000 from a Johannesburg man's bank account, even though the bank had erred in issuing his Autobank card to another person.
What irks Kuben Moodley even more is that Standard Bank treated him "like a criminal" when the bank was at fault.
If Moodley had not discovered that his bank card had been issued to another person, the money drawn from his account may never have been refunded to him.
Moodley says he repaid all the money outstanding on his credit card in March this year. But in July, Standard Bank's card division told him that his account was in arrears.
He discovered that unauthorised withdrawals had been made from his account. Moodley says he could not have made the withdrawals because they occurred while he was at work and at locations far away from his place of employment.
Moodley says that despite contacting senior managers at Standard Bank, they were unable to help him. The bank insisted that Moodley was liable for the withdrawals because they were made using his card and personal identity number.
In an effort to prove his innocence, Moodley reported the matter to the police and obtained records of his whereabouts at the time the withdrawals were made.
He appealed to the bank's internal audit department and signed a claim dispute form, but to no avail. He asked the bank to examine the account history to verify that he only used Standard Bank's ATMs.
"The bank was unsympathetic, treated me like dirt and refused to investigate the possibility of fraud," Moodley says.
He says he had to investigate the matter himself as the bank was not willing to help. He finally found out that his ATM card was issued to someone else who has the same initials as him.
Two years ago, Moodley reported that his ATM card had been stolen and cancelled the card. A new card was ordered for him, but he never collected it and the bank never contacted him to do so. The ATM card was linked to his credit card account, from where the unauthorised withdrawals were made.
Moodley's account was held in Durban and when he lost his card the bank made him run between Durban and Secunda. "I just got tired of chasing the card delivery and decided to wait it out," Moodley says.
Standard Bank has since refunded Moodley the money he lost, saying it was a human error, but he never received an apology.
Erik Larsen, the media spokesperson for Standard Bank, says the bank has resolved the matter and Moodley's account has been credited with R2 161.45. He says it appears that the Secunda branch inadvertently issued Moodley's AutoBank card to another K Moodley.
"This was a genuine mistake, but nonetheless unacceptable. We would like to apologise to Mr Moodley for the treatment he received from our staff as well as for the frustration he experienced in trying to resolve this matter," Larsen says.