Help I've been…No! I'm being Robbed

A cousin/fellow blogger put this up and encouraged me to put it on my blog too. I'm obliged to do so considering that most of what he says here affects me too. Read on:

I am very proud of the progress that Nigerian banks appear to be making. In less than two years, many of them have at least doubled in size and value (according to what some people consider to be the questionable financial results they publish). Besides growing in size some of them have improved the quality of their service delivery by training their staff more, and introducing some new services.

Even though Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have been available around the world for quite a long time, they are only just catching on in Nigeria. The ability to carry a small plastic card around instead of cash is long overdue; especially since previous attempts were not this popular or widely accepted in Nigeria (the valucard was like a status symbol).

I, like many people have an ATM card and I also love the convenience it provides, but more and more I am getting increasingly pissed by the whole thing. It's a good service and it should be encouraged, in fact let me just start from the beginning…

Last year while I was at school (University of Nigeria), a rumour started that a thousand naira had vanished from people's accounts, and that when they asked for an explanation, it turned out that the culprit was the bank (and since I welcome any accusations of libel if they have the guts I will mention a name), Intercontinental Bank. Account holders (mostly students in the case of their Nsukka branch) were told that it was to pay for an ATM card. Before long it was confirmed to be a fact and I was miffed, because I could not and still cannot understand why they did not attempt to sell this new service to us, but instead chose to impose it. I cannot imagine it ever happening that management at Globacom will one day wake up, decide I need some service they come up with, and because they have access to my account simply reach in and pay themselves for it, and after doing so not have the courtesy to inform me of what they have done…since I will eventually find out. Let me mention for accuracy's sake that they eventually started issuing ATM cards at no cost to customers, but as far as I know did not bother to refund the ones they stole from. In my annoyance, I wrote a letter (not politely) demanding an explanation from the branch manager but never delivered it, perhaps because I saw that I was going to be a lone soldier in my cause.

Now some months ago, I heard that customers (at least at Intercontinental Bank), were charged a hundred naira any month they used the bank's ATM machines irrespective of the number of times. This was another detail I was not aware of, because the geniuses at Intercontinental Bank seem to presume that I am too stupid to understand things if they are explained to me. You know, people are always complaining that we duel too much on theoretical things in Nigerian universities, so they just went ahead out of the goodness of their hearts and arranged a practical experience for their customers. Please, this hundred naira should not be mistaken for the one collected when another bank's machine is used, because it is clearly stated that that is in addition to any fees your bank may charge.

Finally, this week the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back was dropped, and I decided to start typing again. I had already seen a notice at Intercontinental Bank announcing that by a certain date withdrawals below a certain amount (I think fifty thousand) will no longer be ACCEPTED or carried out over the counter, but only by the ATM machine. Then this week, I heard that they are planning to charge a fee per withdrawal at their machines. This has not yet taken effect, but what's to stop them.

I may not on my own, be able to do anything about this, but at least I will not take it lying down and I will (if nothing else) fail trying. This is simply NOT [not even in a twisted society like ours] the proper way to do business. There is simply no excuse for reaching into people's personal accounts simply because you have access to them, which is a fact only because you are supposedly trustworthy. If a service is good, you do not have to steal from people's accounts, trick or force them into accepting your service. A sad percentage of us may be illiterate, but with a service as good as ATMs can be, posters, handbills and word of mouth (especially from satisfied customers) will do the trick.

Now the service is popular, and people like me who were robbed have put the robbery behind them and use the service even after hearing (not being notified) about the associated charges. So why come up with a ridiculously high limit for withdrawals over the counter. I am a student and even if they (as I hear they will) have a lower limit at Nsukka, it is unfair for a bank that pays some kobos into accounts as interest, to charge us (many of whom barely manage scrape by) for withdrawing our own money, because we are using a service imposed on us. Also, even if the limit in Nsukka is five thousand it will mean that thousands who can only withdraw less than that at a time will be compelled to use the five machines they have in the town (three on campus, 2 in town as at the last time I was there) which almost never all work at the same time. Thanks to Soludo, I can walk into the banking hall and demand the right to withdraw five thousand and one naira. The one naira will certainly be less than what they plan to charge for using the machine and I will happily sacrifice one naira to avoid the fee if they insist that they do not have change.

Interswitch (which I understand is owned mostly by banks) has to get paid, but it does not have to be like this. Nigerian businesses do not seem to understand what it means to be ethical. Ethics do not have to be alien to us, they may be an extra inconvenience, but they are worth it in the long run especially for companies that seriously mean to outgrow the Nigerian market.

If this was America where people can be sued for sneezing without covering their mouths, goodness knows the story would be different, I may have sued for the "great emotional and psychological distress I suffered as a result of the one thousand naira I lost and the resultant effect on my academics". Seriously though, I wish I knew some young lawyer, fresh out of school who was interested in taking on a giant and becoming a famous or notorious "Lagos lawyer" like the ones referred to on news.

In the future, efforts should be made to educate customers on the advantages of services, Nigerians are NOT stupid and we are more than capable of appreciating a good thing. I think banks will make a decent sum without forcing customers to use ATMs. If they must charge then let them - JUST TELL US FIRST, the different banks can then compete for who will charge the least.

As part of my not lying down, I will post my thoughts online, write newspapers, Intercontinental Bank and possibly speak to customer care at the bank so that I make my displeasure known to them officially (hopefully they will not be as rude as the girl I spoke to this week at Glo's customer care). I hope other people who are displeased will do something. I feel we are often too willing to accept things, even unfair things once we have an excuse to call it "normal" or simply because many people accept it also, so please let me just say that there is nothing, absolutely nothing normal about being forced to accept and pay for a service you have not even requested for even if you would eventually have done so.

It will give me great joy to hear that the bank has received several letters or complaints from dissatisfied customers who are not satisfied with the poor flow of information. UNhappy customer, UNhappy bank.

This was written by CovertNigerian