I am Citibank Gold card member for more than six years. I would like to mention some unscrupulous methods adopted by their Agencies to promote their loan for their credit card members.
I was not just interested in taking any loan, but the call came from the promoting call center office stating that, because my credit rating is very good, I am eligible for a loan, which I have initially declined. He gave me an offer, which was lucrative, stating that if I take the loan “I no longer need to pay the annual fees” meaning a saving Rs. 2000/- per annum, which attracted me. He also added that, this offer is applicable only, if I take the loan!
This entire tele-conversation happened on 13 to 14th Jan 2005. Normally the monthly statement received by me is around 15th to 16th of every month. As you are aware, the loan repayment starts only after 30 days loan realization. Biting the offer, I negotiated the interest rates and concluded the deal for an amount of Rs. 30, 000/- I had to do this, knowing the reasons, that lot of haggling has to be done for personal loan, as there is a service charges, pre-closing charges etc., I was told that I cannot pre-close the loan for a minimum period of six months and with that condition I have agreed to accept the amount. The reason for taking the loan was to take advantage of the ‘Waiver of the fees’.
The trick, which I did not anticipate and came from the blue was; the very first EMI started in January itself, which normally other bankers starts only from the following month. They have held my monthly intimation statement till January 15th and after my acceptance they added the charges and billed me the 1st installment amount in January statement itself, including the service charges! This was totally incorrect and to my knowledge other banks like ICICI and Standard Chartered Bank do not do this way. In this way of charging, they totally reduce the period of Loan pay-back by thirty days, which I could not foresee! I was under the impression that the 1st EMI will start from the February statement.
My desperate attempt to get the clarification yielded no results except a bitter taste and I looked like a fool. In my opinion this entire operation unethical, as I was totally kept in dark about the repayment and I realized the reason for the delay in me getting the monthly statement.
This is clearly a violation of principles and taking the gullible consumers for a ride by reducing the period by more than 45 – 60 days.
D Rajaraman