ABSA Bank
Reviews and Complaints

Good day
I would like to lay a complaint with regards to the conduct of an ABSA EMPLOYEE.

I went the bank during my lunch hour which is from 13H00 - 14H00 to make a withdrawal. I arrived at the bank at 13H20 but the queue was long, & i wouldn’t make it back to the office in time.

I went to the BULK Teller queue and when it was my turn, politely, with respect, apologised to the Teller, Rebone Mogorosi, for wanting do the transaction at the BULK TELLER, I was really in a tight spot.

I explained that it was the only time that i had to attend to the bank & i'm working from 08H00 - 16H30 & i need the funds today. She told me that i should work in 2 days lunch hour & only then attend to the bank in order to make the withdrawal.

She further suggested that i come during the weekend, but fact of the matter was that i needed the funds at that specific moment & she was also waisting my time with all the suggestions she made. After all of the above, she refused to help me where after i asked an employee for the Manager who asked another Teller to help me, Bless her soul, she helped me.

When i left i asked her for her name, told me to get it from the person who told me to get her name & eventually told me her name after i insisted, i don’t even know if it is really her name as she was not wearing a nametag.

Is that how Client should be treated? I wouldn’t be asking for assistance at the BULK TELLER if it weren’t urgent, and it don’t happen every day, but i feel offended because i am a paying Client at ABSA and deserve to be assisted when really urgent. One thing i know for sure is that i will be closing down my account and moving to another bank where i will be treated like a paying client.

After losing my job in 2000 I defaulted on my Absa credit card. They sent the sheriff to my house to sell my property and collect the money I owe them. Now 12 years later a law firm sent me a sms that they have identified my Absa account for garnishee process. Is that even legal? As far as information available to me they must take legal action within 3 years.

i received a registered letter from absa sent to florida post office. i took time off work to collect the letter and it stated that my account no [protected] was in arrears and absa proposes that i obtain debt counselling and they threaten to cancel the agreement.
i have had this agreement for years and i think there are 3 payments left.
i phoned the credit services and spoke to a sarah who informed me that the debit order did not go off last month because absa were having a problem with their computers.
how can absa send such a letter to me when the mess-up is from their side --- surely a polite letter or phone call apologising for the inconvenience would have been in order?
i am disgusted with absa and hope that my name is not tarnished by them.

I was working for a security company for 2 years and I paid provident fund for those 2 years of r110 every month.
When I left I got a number from the company as well as some papers I had to post to absa to claim the money back.
The number always goes through to a answering service, they tell you please hold all the operators are currently busy.
After you heard same message 5 times they put you through to a message service where you leave your details and they promise to phone you back. I managed to get through to them only 2 times in 2 years and I phone every day! The 2 times I got through they told me they can not find me on their system. After that I tried phoning again to tell them the fund I belonged to were the nbc fund with absa provident fund. Till this day I never got through to them and april it was 2 years.
The number is [protected].

Im a student and will soon be kicked at of the university i am attending. I recieved a cheque which was surposed to cover my intire fees but it has been 4 days already and the cheque has not been paid. I went to absa east street in petermaritsburg and asked for special clearance I was told the money would be avalible in my accoun which is a student account for witdral by monday or tuesday and am still waiting. This bank is so unpleasent to go to cause they are very slow when it comes to service delivery

I am noluvuyo mildred nqikela i was working for omega risk solutions. I resigned my last contribution was on the 31st august 2011. I submitted my claim forms on 05 august 2011 my id no [protected]. In june this year 2012 the send me the message stated that the receive my claim will be processed in two weeks time, and i phoned again two months later still same message till today. Can you please advise me what can ido

A cheque was deposited to my ABSA account by a Post Office in Bloemfontein on Friday. I inquired from the local ABSA if the cheque can be given a special clearance and they told me that the matter must be taken up with the branch where the cheque was deposited by the person who deposited the cheque. I informed Post Office Bloemfontein and they said someone has been send to request the special clearance on the same day. After 5 hours awaiting a response, I called the ABSA branch in Bloemfontein and I was transferred from one person to another and told to hold for someone else. At some instances, I spoke to four different people claiming to be holding the same post (Head of Tellers). On asking them about this, they dropped the call on my ear. I went through this process four times and my problem was not even attended to. At last, 16h12 I spoke to a gentleman who called himself Wesley who told me that he will not clear the bank cheque because my account is inactive. I am worried about whose account is verified, for that matter is an amount of less than R2000 issued by the branch of SAPO. How can SAPO not have the money. Unbelievable. I have heard enough of these banks, crap service, ridiculous fees, ill treatment, harassment what else can I say. May it is time to some up with a different method of handling ones efforts(earnings). Do we really need the banks. What will happen if the banks were no more. They are causing poverty, ripping-off customers and they are the glorious heavens come on earth. The furniture they are using is changed every now and then with the monies stolen from the poor. The time will come for the banks to come down and "a new road installed" for the betterment of life not this disgrace and embarrassment we are experiencing. A political agenda must be pushed forward on the banks in particular or we should realize that the behavior of banks is an upheaval against human life therefore an act of war.

Absa port shepstone is a disgrace. After a recent burglary, we went to get new cards, and my husband got disgraceful treatment... Nothing unusual, and decided to close our account, after banking with absa since 1980. The cheque we received, with our funds... A bank guaranteed check, had a hold on it for 7 days. Isn't this supposed to be the same as cash. We pboned, fnb phoned, and absa simply refused to release our money. To pay off our credit card, said they would contact us, didn't for some weeks, and now they want the money, 3 calls a day, every day and keep adding interest. Since when does absa get to play god! I have told everyone I know about our experience, and no one can believe that absa would not release our funds before 7 days. Now we get to pay for their inefficiency. Absa sucks!

To whom it may concern:

I am completely fed up with Absa bank now, I only have one account at Absa bank and its too much to handle, I cannot stand the service I’m getting from Absa bank, this is pathetic, ever since I received my credit card from Absa I’ve not had one days rest, the day I collected my credit card from Absa bank in greenstone mall, I took my id, proof of residence and proof of income with me, since then I had to take it through to Absa in greenstone twice after that, I had to take it to primrose branch twice as well, which I don’t understand because I didn’t collect my cards from primrose, I’ve been contacted several times by greenstone branch and primrose branch for these documents, till I decided I will not go in one more time seeing that I have to give up an entire Saturday to go stand in Absa bank due to the lack of speed Absa branches have, and then they don’t even process the documents correctly, no one can collect, sign and use an Absa credit card or any banks credit card as a matter of fact without supplying the bank with the necessary documents, so how according to Absa bank do you still not have my documents?

Secondly, I loaded a debit order to my savings account for the monthly instalments of the credit card to go off the savings account the day I collected the cards, there after I’ve reloaded and reloaded and reloaded the debit order to the credit card, I have been contacted numerous times by Absa banks to let me know my credit card is in arrears, but whose fault is that, debit orders is “an added services to the client for the clients convenience" this is what was said to me the previous time I spoke to Absa bank call centre, now this is definitely not convenient if I’m constantly loading debit orders to a credit card and no one in Absa is doing their jobs. I contacted Absa bank on 12 March 2012 and had this conversation with a lady at the call centre, after numerous apologies I received from her, I was guaranteed that my debit order has been loaded and I was notified that the first instalment due to go off on 25 March would be for the amount of R 687.04, I then transferred the difference into the savings account...

After a few days I contacted Absa again to see if this has been done correctly and if I’ll have problems with Absa again, I was ensured that the debit order was loaded and the man confirmed the amount of R687.04 that would be debited out of my savings account!

I went into Absa internet banking this morning after receiving an sms from Absa stating I should pay my credit card to see that there was only a portion of the R687.04 debited out of my account, then 2 hours later I get a phone call from Absa credit card division, telling me there's a problem on my account, I couldn’t get one word in with this guy then he dropped the line, regardless of the fact that I am not allowed to be on my cell phone during working hours unless its work related and I’ve been contacted so many times before by Absa bank regarding this problem that got me into trouble at my company, still there is nothing being done correctly at Absa bank.

Now, I have always added debit orders to all my accounts, I don’t like falling into arrears with any accounts, reason for the debit orders. If this reflects on my ITC report as unpaid and gives me a bad credit rating I promise I will not accept it and will not leave it at that, due to it not being my mistake but Absa's incompetent staff not only at both branches greenstone and primrose but also at the call centre.

Now please, this time reply with a solution and not with excuses.
I am emailing this to the email adDress available on Absa internet banking as well

--

Regards,

Amanda Aspeling

I'm under debt review, my debt counselor contacts me saying ABSA will not give them an outstanding balance of my accounts unless I call in person. I called [protected] and then the circus came to town.
I've been given the run around for the last hour just to get someone to give me an outstanding balance on my cheque account. Ended up having to call 5 different departments all over South Africa and ending up right in my back yard... Cape Town Branch.
The funny thing is... I was helped by a nice lady, very sympathetic. She's gonna call around and ask where and who will be able to assist. BUT and this is where it really gets funny... From what she can tell, the account is closed since 10th November 2011. ABSA is still accepting payments made to that account. Another account they cant even tell me what type of account it is. But they have been accepting payment for that one for the last 4 years!

Is ABSA gonna pay me back?

Hi,

Last year I had my geyser fixed by one of ABSA's suppliers (they insure my house). The supplier replaced the geyser, but in so doing they had to remove an old tank, leaving the now-exposed wall unpainted. I complained about this unprofessionalism, and was told that someone would come out to have a look. I'm still waiting...

Then a few weeks back my tenants called to say a wall in the lounge had cracked. Of course, I called my insurers: ABSA. the assessor came out a few days later to look. My tenants tell me the assessor was rude and unpleasant, interrogating them with questions they don't have answers to. This is despite the fact that I am the client, not my tenants - I am the one who should have been contacted with any questions. This rude and unprofessional assessor did, however, tell my tenants that the crack was caused by ABSA's suppliers climbing in the roof.

ABSA never contacted me regarding this issue (the crack), so this week I gave them a call. The rude lady handling my claim told me my claim was not approved. When asked why, she told me I am "not covered." I then (obviously!) asked for more information as to why it wasn't covered - it was after all ABSA's suppliers who caused the damage - and this rude lady who is supposedly 'handling' my claim couldn't even tell me what caused the crack or why the claim was not approved.

I will not be doing business with ABSA again.

Due to personal reasons, I am under debt review and have been on this process since last year July 2011. From the 2nd November ABSA has been receiving payment towards my Virgin Money Credit Card, via a payment distribution agent (PDA), known as Hyphen Technology. I am currently with Debt Safe.

Despite the payment being received, ABSA’s legal department decided to hand my account over to their Attorneys, namely, Norton Lambrianos. After much discussion, my Virgin Money Credit card has been accepted under debt review process and Norton Lambrianos has been receiving their payment timeously ever since.

I received a letter of demand with regards to payment and that I needed to respond by the 25th February 2012. The email was not sent as an attachment, but typed up by a lady by the name of Kutlo Marumo [[protected]@norlam.co.za]. I have however scanned the email through as an attachment.

My debt counselor did get in contact with Norton Lambrianos and all proof of payment was again submitted to them.(I scanned the proof of communication, please see attached).

Today the 27th February 2012 at 10:51am I received an sms from ABSA stating that money has been transferred from my savings account to my Credit account. I contacted the number [protected], Option 1 that was stated on the sms. I get told by your call centre consultant, Theodora Phefadu that an amount of R8000 was transferred from my savings account to my Virgin Money Credit Card. On her system it does not show that I am under debt review, neither does it show that this account is being dealt with by Norton Lambrainos Attorneys. Further to this SMS there is no notification as to how much was transferred etc. Only the consultant is able to tell us this.

I want to know who has given ABSA the authority to do such an act and which staff member has actually gone and done the transfer. I also want proof that this transfer was paid into my credit card. I want copies of all the necessary documents that states such a transfer as well as proof of signature that has authorized this transfer.

My question to you is that how can ABSA go into my personal savings account and debit my account without forewarning me.
When I asked Theodora what gives ABSA the right to do such a thing her reply was that “ABSA does not forewarn their clients because we would then go and draw out the money before hand!”

This is totally unacceptable. Payment towards my Virgin Money Credit Card has been coming through timeously with no delays.

This to me is now called fraud! How can ABSA go into a clients account unannounced! My privacy has been invaded and this is something that I will not just accept. I have given ABSA no authority whatsoever to transfer this money. This also defeats the purpose of having a pin code as well as pass codes, doesn’t it?

Further to this, I am under debt review, which is a legal process, but ABSA has still chosen to invade their clients privacy.

I will not accept this act as ‘its ABSA policy” because I have been making payment towards my card. ABSA has chosen to hand this account over, hence the payment to Norton Lambrianos.

I now sit out of pocket, and have now incurred more costs because all my debit orders will now be un-cleared. Further to this, how do I live for the rest of the month, how did I fill petrol in my car and how do I pay school fees.

I expect an investigation into this matter ASAP and I will not be accepting any excuses. Rightfully this money needs to be reimbursed to me as this was unlawfully transferred from my account. The thought of this act is absolutely ludicrous! So much for a consumers right and privacy! I still cannot believe that ABSA literally “hacked” into my personal account and transferred money without notification?

Mrs Naidoo]
Durban

I am really annoyed and disappointed in Glen Pietesen misrepresenting us.

If Glen properly explained the situation and conveyed our concerns this situation could have been avoided.

Our main concern was will Absa sell our property regardless of us paying the agreed amount.

When l spoke to Ms Manual and arranged for Glen to bring along the documentation he did not come to my home.

Instead he made notes of his first meeting that we were reluctant to sign.

Ms Manual phoned me and she asked me why we were not signing I said that we were still waiting for Glen she said he made notes the previous week that we not signing l said that we have not seen Glen since the first time he visited us.

Ms Manaul was so kind as to assure me to call him and made arrangements for Glen to visit us again.

When Glen arrived I asked him why he made false notes on Absa system he looked shocked and immeditely started blaming us that we not in contact with Absa.

I said to him that I phond Absa a week ago to make an arrangement for him visit us and when he did not pitch I called Ms Manual again and she assited us.

I pointed out to him that he cannot make up stories and make as if he visited us and refer to outdated conversations which pertained to months ago and then make notes on Absa system as if he visited us.

Is this not misrepresentation and dishonesty how many clients are dealt the same fate but because we are in arrears people think they can further smear our names and make false notes because they will not be held responsible.

Why was this matter not recorded or reported by Ms Manual If your notes and telephone conversation are recorded everytime clients are called or if they call in, you will notice I called various times and everytime it is pertaining to me waiting for Glen Pietersen to bring or collect Absa documents or notes he made that were untrue.

I was called by Rene Morgan a few weeks ago and the same conversation carried on I asked her if I could not hand deliver the documentation to Absa she informed me that Glen was the representative in our area to ensure documentation was duly signed l asked her to ensure that Glen call me first to make an appointment with me for the documents to be signed.

A week went by Glen did not pitch up I called Rene but she was on leave a young lady assisted me and informed me that Glen made notes on the system that we must come into Absa to sign all documents he was out to see us six times.

"Is this not a sign that Glen is not doing his job correctly who goes out to see the same client six times with no positive outcome.

If you have made an appointment after noticing only one party is available when you arrive unannounced.

Then surely you are not serious in what you a doing your job?

If clients are not signing and want to first ask advice from another source this means you did not explained the situation correctly and clients are in doubt

Who does Glen report to and how did our situation spiral out of control?"

l asked when that was I did not see him more than twice first encounter was to ask us if we signed the docs we raised our concerns with him but he did explain in detail the situation to us we told him we will get advice from another source first before we sign and we told him that we could only afford R 2000+ /-Glen left and said he will motivate and put it in his report.

Weeks later we were called by a young gentleman from Absa legal department he asked why we were paying the full amount of R3140 we told him we explained our situation to Glen he said he does not have those notes regarding our conversation.

The second time I saw Glen was when I asked him why he made false remarks on Absa system.

I told the lady I was prepare to hand delivered the documentation but was advised that it was Glens job.

The lady advised me to email it to him which I did Glen's response via email was that the documents were not duly completed and attached updated documents and said that management requested we come to Absa to sign the documentation.

I responded to Glens email last week and conveyed Rene's message that he was the Absa's representative and I offered to come to Absa but was advise not too.
In my email I asked Glen to bring along the updated documents l will make sure we have the supporting documentation on hand.

He did not respond to my email this morning 27 March 2012 I phone Rene and she said that the matter was handed over again and not sure why or by who she refered me to Kabelo and he refered me to Thuli the call centre manager.

I know we defaulted on our bond but not because we wanted to but because I am unemployed and we had no money or choice.

I hope my concerns are taken up with Glen and his superiors he has put us in a very bad situation and has cost Absa and ourselves money allowing our bond to float from one department to another because he has let his personal feelings and dishonesty get in the way of business.

Or is this his way of getting back at us for questioning his dishonesty.

I also want dates and times he claimed he visited us and our response or comments on each occasion and why he was unable to assist us as an representative of Absa.

I am sure he has to keep records.

I know you said there are no notes on your system regarding my part but I have called the banking ombutsman and they refered me to Absa disputes department they have taken time and explained to me in detail that my property cannot be sold if we paying the agreed amount and why the special power of attorney needs to be signed.

Now I have spent hundreds of rands on telephone bills all because of Glens incompetence not doing his job correctly.

How does an individual working for Absa entrusted with such delicate matters get to make false notes and not be held accountable.

Thank you for your assistance I really appreciate it.

I am sorry I had to vent but I had to explain my side of events.

Kind regards,

Sadea Jacobs

Did ABSA send me this notification?

Valued Customer,

A payment has been made to your account, your account statement have been attached.
click to download the attachment and directly login to our secure server to verify your details and login to view your statement.
We have upgraded our security preferences of all our online account holders to protect your statement by verifying your online identities from our server to verify your credentials

Regards.

Payment Refunds Notifications Department.

Absa Security Advisor
________________________________________
The Internet Banking Team © ABSA Group 2012

I was told by a friend about an Absa secretary that has gone into several peoples accounts including hers. This Absa employee did not have any consent and is still employed at Absa despite her manager finding out about her doing this on a previous occasion. I feel violated knowing that any Absa employee can access my Absa account without my knowledge!
I really think this is disgusting and a criminal offence!

My friend tried to complain to Claremont branch manager only to find out that the Absa employee has recently moved to a Cape Town branch and no one can give her the managers number...

I need to know what happen to my car. ABSA reposesed my car, I been phoning and phoning, the one employee listen to the story, say yes we can sort it out, then they can't send me to the next employee, same story and the next and the next. I need help, I need to know what is going on/ ABSA has bad bad bad client service

On 24-11-2011, I submitted the cancellation forms for my property structural insurance to ABSA Bank, Wolff street, Kempton Park. ABSA Bank has not processed this request and has now deducted the premium of R6276.88 for the following year. On the [protected] It took me 2 hours at ABSA, Woodbridge Square, Kempton Park, to formalise my complaint. After presenting a copy of my initial cancellation request, it was promised to me by the Manageress of Woodbridge branch to have this request re-processed. It is now the third day and still no luck. This is causing me great inconvenience as there will be not enough funds for my debit orders on my account. My bond has been paid in full since March 2007. The ABSA Insurance policy no. is [protected] and my name is K.T.Kelly

I am hoping someone can assist me. I had a credit card with ABSA Bank, was in arrears and was subsequently handed over to their legal recoveries department. I then made arrangements to pay off this account and did not miss any payments that was required. However to my suprise on the 30th March 2011 i received a call and a letter saying that i had been handed over for a missed payment. I immediately called their legal recoveries department and it took a further 8 days before this was sorted. The excuse someone made a mistake but who that person was nobody could give me that information. (2) At the end of November 2011 i received a call from an ABSA call center person informing me that ABSA is offering me a special settlement to close the account. I thought it was a hoax and called the ABSA legal recoveries departmentont the 7th December 2011 and spoke to Martha who confirmed that this is true. She gave me the amount which i was to pay to close the account and said that the offer is valid until the 31st December 2011 and also informed me that should i need more clarity or assurance i can go inside any ABSA Bank and speak to their consultants. On the 21st December I went to the ABSA Bank in Brackenfell South Africa - Client Services and spoke to Roxanne who call the legal department and confirmed the amount the same amount (R5098.47). She also informed me that the amount would reflect the next day and that in order for this account to be closed i had to phone the legal department to close the account. I paid the amount. On the 22nd I called the legal department on [protected] and spoke to Prudence who informed me that the account cannot be closed because the amount that i paid did not reflect in the account. However she promised that she would check the next day and because the person working with my account was on leave (Previa) she would sent a request to the support centre to close the account. Today on the 29th December i called again and spoke to Denise Buys asking if the account has been closed. To my surprise it was not even though Prudence assured me that it would be after 72hours and i would receive a letter stating that the account is closed. The explanation from Denis was that the majority of the staff is on leave and she would send a second request for the account to be closed. 20 minutes later i received a message from ABSA saying that i need to call the legal department urgently because i short paid on my account and the account cannot be closed. I called immediately and spoke to Denise Buys again and again the excuse is "a mistake was made by someone" and that i now have to pay an extra amount of R150 before the credit card can be closed. This surprises me because (1) I was called an amount was given (2) I called the call centre who confirmed the amount (3) i went into the branch at brackenfell an ABSA client service consultant phoned the legal amount and confirmed the amount again. (4) Now that i paid the amount which they gave me now it cannot be closed because "someone made a mistake". This is unacceptable to me how can an amount be confirmed 3 times and then its someone's mistake and I have to pay an extra R150.
if anyone can assist me kindly contact me on email [protected]@ufh.ac.za

I did a swift transfer Friday the 4th .The money is out of my UK account but not showing in my South African account. upon trying to phone international forex division . the message was we value your call(20 times) so obviously not .Also 'We are experiencing high call volumes' when have they not?'It would be fairer to say we are too mean to employ enough people to answer the phone we would rather get you to spend your money on the phone.