I was forced to open a Suvidha account several years ago as our finance dept. had outsourced payroll to some agency. To keep costs low, they insisted on Citibank and the Suvidha account in particular.
Initially it was quite good, provided you could find a working ATM. I never visited the branch initially due to the charges levied. I also found the auto FD feature useful.
Then one day the auto FD feature was silently removed. Months later, I realized that I had lost a large amount of money in interest. When I called to enquire about this the customer service person quite rudely claimed that I had been informed via a message in the last statement.
Which was not correct, as there was no such message. It took several phone calls and faxes before this was cleared up and they reluctantly paid up interest.
Then I noticed that they had suddenly stopped sending the quarterly statements. Like other reviewers have noted, they were trying to get people to use email or their website only. I started calling the phone line daily to ask for a statement and told their PR manager that I would do this (costing Citibank at least Rs 30 per statement) until they fixed the problem.
Within days, I noticed that they had changed the menu system to hide the statement request option under ’’recent transactions.’’ Earlier it used to be very clear and easy to get to: obviously this was a ploy to frustrate customers.
In due course, the quarterly statement shrank from a detailed list to just 2 lines - debit/credit. I pointed out to their managers that this was bending RBI rules to suit themselves, whereupon it was quickly fixed.
I must also note that their website is very fragile - unless you constantly keep clearing the cache and cookies in between logins, it breaks. I also hate the ’’virtual keyboard’’ that they recently introduced. The large number of animated gif advertisements is so annoying that I used to switch off image loading in the browser before going there.
Just recently I moved to another more sensible company which allows you to pick a bank of your choice.
The very first thing I did was cut off Citibank.
Of course, they blocked my ATM card, zeroed my account and did the usual rubbish that they do to most customers.
In my case, I realized that while they block the ATM card and internet access, they do not block the phone line. You can still keep asking for cheque books and statements.
Remember that each transaction costs THEM money, and they soon will get the message not to mess with you. If you do this consistently 3-4 days in a row, and then ask to speak with a supervisor, you’ll find that they are much easier to deal with.
If your acct gets blocked, ask to speak with their debt collection manager - insist on his/her name and cell number. That usually resolves issues faster.
Some tips:
Never link a citibank credit card with your account. If the auto-debit of the minimum amount due wipes out your savings account balance, you will never get it back. It’ll also block your debit/ATM card, and web access. This can and will happen if you’re running low on the savings account. The minute it goes below Rs 1000/-, all their extortion will start - charges for non compliance with the minimum balance etc etc. I have a detailed trail of emails and statements from them where they sometimes claim that the account is zero balance, or needs Rs 1000/- min. balance or Rs 5000/-. I guess it depends on the mood of the individual communicating with you.
Always read the options in the internet site carefully before paying bills online etc. They try to make you pay 99/- every six months for bill payment facilities. If your balance is reasonably high, they will waive it off if you ask firmly.
Ask for the IVR menu in hardcopy, or get the system to fax it to you. Otherwise you will find it very difficult to navigate their systems.
But the best tip of all is to avoid this bank if you can - there are better options such as HDFC (website is very good, but bill payment however here is not good) and ICICI (branches are open for longer periods). This might be easier said than done, given the number of companies that have been lured into Suvidha salary accounts. I would anyday rather take a cheque and use a bank of my own choice than be held hostage by Citibank.