Published 22nd Oct, 2022

By Sodeeq Atanda

Daniel Bassey, a resident of Lagos State, has narrated how Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) blocked his debit card for no justifiable reason before its expiry date.

Bassey told FIJ that he was prompted to visit one of the bank’s branches in Ketu, Lagos, when he received a notification on March 2, 2022, that it was almost time for him to “renew his debit card”.

According to him, the bank’s email came at a time the card he carried was two months away from expiry.

In order to retain the same Primary Account Number (PAN) he had been using on the debit card for 12 years, Bassey visited the branch, being the closest to his location, to fill an application form for a new card.

CONFUSION

“On March 2, 2020, GTBank sent an email to me, saying that my ATM naira Mastercard was due to expire on May 31 and another one would automatically be produced for me. The message also asked that I change my pick-up location on the internet banking platform before the expiry date,” Bassey said.

“I had an issue which prevented me from changing my location on the internet banking platform, so I decided to visit their Ketu branch on March 8. When I told them that I would like the card transferred to their branch for easy pick-up, they gave me a form to fill.

“To my dismay, I later had a challenge while trying to conclude a transaction with the card at a filling station the following day.

“At that point, I became confused. I was also embarrassed by the filling station attendant who was beginning to cause a scene when I couldn’t pay him on time. In the process, I checked if my mobile banking app would work and it actually did. So, I successfully paid for the transaction.

“I was really eager to figure out what was wrong with my card, so I visited the same Ketu branch a second time to lodge a complaint. They assured me that my card was fine. I then decided to make use of it, using the POS machine inside the bank and the system response I got was ‘CARD REPORTED LOST. YOUR CARD HAS BEEN RETAINED.’ I couldn’t understand what was going on.”

CARD BLOCKED

Bassey told FIJ that the bank later established that one of its staff members had blocked his card.

“Shocked, I asked him to explain why it was blocked. With no concrete response, he simply promised to find out. Their findings later showed that it was the staff member that attended to me when I first applied for card transfer that blocked it. She then went on to process a new card that I never requested for,” Bassey said.

“I went back to the bank a third time on March 9 to make them resolve the issue for me because I had a foreign trip to embark on in the same month. I also did not want to go through any unpleasant experience when I travelled. I insisted that my card be unblocked.”

ATTEMPT TO GET FUNDS REJECTED

Bassey said he eventually applied for a Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) to be able to have some funds for the planned foreign trip.

“While trying to resolve the issue, I applied for a PTA via trade system platform on the same March 9, and they uploaded my information,” Bassey said.

“Some minutes after, they rejected the application on the basis that I did not attach an authority letter empowering the bank to debit my account, despite expressly indicating it on the form.

“I was frustrated again, and I requested to withdraw £300 from my pounds account. They told me they only had £100 in polymer and offered to give me paper notes.

“I was forced to wonder why they offered me that kind of option since they had said they would be cancelling the collection of paper notes by December 31, 2022. I later left there without getting any help.”

He said he sent a complaint to the bank online upon his arrival in the United Kingdom on March 10.

“After my arrival in the UK, I sent a complaint to them on March 10. They later gave a response that my mail was being looked into,” Bassey said.

“Throughout my brief stay in the UK, I could not access my money with GTBank because of the debit card issue. I had to resort to other means to ensure I attended to my needs.”

BACK IN THE COUNTRY AND CARD RETRIEVED

When Bassey returned to Nigeria from his trip, he visited another GTbank branch on Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, to lodge the card complaint again.

“I was at their Yaba branch on March 23 after my return to Nigeria, they asked me to fill a card retrieval form and I eventually got access back to my card,” he said.

“I am still shocked at the whole story. Up till now, I still don’t know what made the bank to block his card and deny me access to my funds for two weeks.”

“PSYCHOLOGICAL TROUBLE AND NO APOLOGY BY THE BANK“

Bassey further said the experience caused him unnecessary confusion and psychological disturbance.

“After much back and forth, I retrieved my card and started to ruminate over what warranted the bank to subject me to those problems,” Bassey said.

“I was disturbed psychologically and it got me questioning myself if I had ever involved myself in any questionable transaction to justify the bank’s action against me.

“I expected them to apologise to me for inflicting such pain on me, but nothing like that ever came from them. I was not treated right at all.”

FIJ’s email to GTBank on the development had not been responded to at press time.

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