This post is regarding Citibank and their most recent
goof-up in terms of their process in place which has caused a lot of inconvenience,
to me personally.
I had raised a request for redemption of my mutual funds about
certain amount of on the 17th of December, 2009(Thursday). Normally
it takes about 3 working days to get the credit in the savings account. But on
Saturday, 19th of December, 2009 at 1651 hours, I received an SMS
from Citibank as an alert stating that “Redeemed “X”
UNITS of XX Fund on 17-DEC-09 at a NAV OF Rs.XXX. Your a/c has been credited
with Rs.XXXX.XX.” * Supporting this
I also received an email from CitiAlert.India@citicorp.com
stating the same. The email is as follows:
Mail subject: CitiAlert
- Investment Redemption Confirmation
Dear Citibank Customer, *
Thank you for banking with Citibank. We are pleased
to provide you details pertaining to your Citibank Account.
Redeemed “X” UNITS of XX Fund on 17-DEC-09 at a NAV
OF Rs.XXX. Your a/c has been credited with Rs.XXXX.XX.*
You can visit our website https://citibank.com/india and login to
Citibank Online using your Internet Password(IPIN). Alternatively*
you can also E-Mail us at indiaservice@citicorp.com.*
Assuring you of our best service at all times.*
Warm Regards,
Manager Customer Service
I was pleasantly surprised by these 2 confirmations and made
other commitments thinking that I can utilize the redeemed amount. But Sunday
morning when I checked my online account, I was shocked to see that the account
has still not been credited with the amount. That’s when I raised my 1st
complaint. I was told that the matter will be investigated and I shall be
informed on the outcome. The whole of Sunday passed & still no credit in
the account.
I raised a 2nd compliant on Monday, the 21st
of December. I was again told that the fund usually takes 3 working days to get
credited. And as before I asked the support officer(Lavanya.G) – Why did I get
2 confirmations messages and still the amount is not reflecting in my account?
Obviously the reply from the officer was “We will investigate the issue”.
I received the credit on Tuesday, 22nd of
December(on the 5th business day & 3 days after I received the
confirmation messages).
Finally today 23rd of December, I received a call
stating that the matter has been taken for investigation(please note there has
been no progress in the status). The support officer also told me that the
messages I received was not confirmation messages, but rather the approval
messages indicating the funds will be cleared. Now does Citibank really think
their customer is a fool? If it’s a redemption approval message, why should the
message read “You account has been credited with Rs XXXX.XX)
For all those who are reading this, I have saved both the
email & SMS alert from Citibank knowing very well their capabilities when
it comes to goofing up.
My questions here are:
·
What processes does Citibank have in place where
a confirmation mail & message goes 3 days ahead of the credit?
·
Why should a customer bear the brunt when
Citibank is at fault?
·
I have gone through major stress thinking that
my money is lost forever. Who is going to make good the emotional stress I as a
customer have gone through the past 3