Femi Atoyebi, a Lagos-based logistics professional, has accused Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) of failing to return his N56,000 after the bank’s deposit machine released it to a thief in 2018.

Atoyebi told FIJ that he deposited the money at the Ikotun branch of GTB on November 22, 2018.

“I received a credit alert of the transaction,” he told FIJ.

On that same day, he also got an alert that the money left his account. Atoyebi said a customer care representative said that the machine dispensed the money because of some technical issues.

READ ALSO: ‘No Refund’, GTBank Tells Customer Whose N264,000 Went Missing

“Immediately I saw the debit alert, I returned to the bank and I was told they had network issues. The bank official asked me to come back the following day,” said Atoyebi.

“I went back there and the customer care agent confirmed that I was credited and then debited due to the previous day’s technical issue. That particular machine should not have dispensed because it was meant for deposit.”

The logistics professional told FIJ that he was then directed to the bank official in charge of the deposit machine, where CCTV footage revealed that another customer stole the money from the machine.

“The customer wanted to do a deposit when he saw the money. The guy entered the hall after that but went out without doing any transaction. Perhaps, he was scared that it would be traced to him.

“The bank official then told me it was beyond what the branch could handle. He asked me to direct my complaint to the head office in Victoria Island.”

READ ALSO: GTB Silent 22 Days After Unauthorised Deduction of Lagos Businessman’s N50,000

Atoyebi said he did not receive any response despite submitting two letters at the Ikotun branch and the head office the following week.

“I sent several emails and messages when I did not hear from them after that, but they were all ignored,” he told FIJ.

Even when Atoyebi paid a lawyer to sue GTB in 2019, with the hope of recovering his N56,000, the bank kept mute.

“My lawyer wrote a letter to them on March 6, 2019, demanding N5,250,000 in damages in addition to the N56,000. The bank never responded,” he told FIJ.

“I had to pull out of the case because I had no money to further pursue it. For that single letter, I paid N20,000.

“I went to their head office again in April 2022 and requested to see the head of the legal department. I was there for about two hours but nobody attended to me.”

GTBANK’S RESPONSE

A GTB help centre representative identified as Kehinde said the bank was not allowed to give information on customers’ accounts to third parties.

Kehinde said FIJ should tell the account owner to contact the bank.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. Kindly tell the account owner to visit the branch or contact his account officer,” said GTB.