Chris Nwadigo, an Ebonyi-based school proprietor, has detailed how the United Bank for Africa (UBA) refused to refund his N130,000 after it was deducted without his authorisation.

Chris told FIJ that he opened a business account with UBA after being persuaded to do so by the bank’s representative in 2013.

“The manager of the Ziks Avenue branch of the bank, Otu Philip, further assured me that the account was safe. I was even charged N5,000 then for the debit card,” he said.

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Chris said he used the card to shop in a Target store in California, USA, and returned to Nigeria in December 2013.

“On February 14, 2014, I got a debit alert that my account had been debited with N130,907.74 from Houston, Texas,” he said.

“I wrote to the bank and explained to them that it was a wrong debit. I was not the one that did the withdrawal. UBA promised to investigate and revert back to me. They never did.”

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Chris said he wrote to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on April 2, 2014, complaining about the unauthorised debit.

“I wrote a letter to the CBN attaching the necessary letters and details. The CBN then wrote to UBA and mandated them to resolve the issue with me,” he said.

“I asked them what the point of putting your money in the bank was if they wouldn’t protect you against such. Every bank around the world is insured against such practices. I thought that was why I was charged N5,000 for the debit card.”

“I kept calling the bank customer service, and each day I called, I got different responses. Till date, I have not got back my money or an enforcement for a refund from the CBN.”

FIJ contacted UBA via one of its official email addresses, but they had not responded at press time.