ABSA Bank
Reviews and Complaints

Absa never sent me updates about the account via post. They send me sms's and calling me at work. The account has now being handed over which I was not evens aware of until recently when they called. The attorneys are now demanding R500.00 to be paid. Unfortunately I could only pay them R100.00 in January and I have said that I will try to pay them +-R300.00 if I can afford. They said that is not acceptable and they threatened to blacklist my name as well as my husbands. They also said that a guarnish order will be taken on my account. I must say the service is very poor. For the record there was no Sec 129 or a letter of demand sent out or evens final notice of payment.

Please assist me to rectify this matter.

I am an absa platinum client, I made a request to my so-called banker at midrand branch, I wanted him to submit a vehicle finance application. He did send the application but the responce from his department left so much to be desired for. According to absa platinum website, as a member I deserve a competitive rates but I was given a ridiculous rate. I currently have a vehicle account with absa and my rate currently is about 8.5% and the consultant told me that he was prepared to give me atleast prime. He couldn't explain the reason why he could not give me the same rate. What I find it funny is that I was given this rate long before I was given a platinum status. So what advantage do I have from absa? They managed to give me 8.5% when I was a gold member but they can't give the same now that i'm a platinum client? How does the so called platinum status work in absa? I'm currently in negotiation with the other bank to move all my business to that bank maybe I would be treated with great loyalty and dignity I deserve.

I've been battling Since last week monday to get answers from Absa! Frozen acc. but can withdraw outside? No explanation! Proof of residence wanted? All my stuff was correct! Then they offered to pay me on my lost of revenue for the LAPTOP Sale I've lost which is R4 200, which I declined, & gave them a counter settlement offer! All the discomfort & other hazzles I have to deal with bcause if their ERROR! So today the manageres Mss. ILSE ? phones & says, Mr. ERNST BOTHMA said they cud pay me R3 000, on my lost of revenue today, then friday we will have a formal answer on the rest of the settlement, which I wud have accepted even though I still loose! Get 2 the Bank & Mss. Ilse wants to write me a tjek but I need to sign the document that state the R3 000 is FULL & FINAL SETTLEMENT! How SNEAKY TO U GET! So Mr. BOTHMA phones me & SAYS IT IS THEIR FINAL OFFER! That's not even my lost of revenue! Well I was trying to be nice, but the MANAGERES LIED to me & then they INSULTED my INTELIGENCE! Absa is wasting my time while telling me I must not go over to another bank. Then they Insult my Intelligence! I've wasted 2weeks already, & they think I'm an *****! Bad Move Absa!

I have submitted 4 claims to absa insurance regarding damage to my property and have recieved feedback on only 1. The first claim was made in july 2009 where my roof was damaged and we fixed the problem as we were selling the property. We put through the claims and have not received any response. Absa was however very timeous on taking their yearly insurance on the property. They said they would grant us a prorata refund once the claim was settled since the property was transfered a couple of weeks later to the new owners. 9months have passed and this issue has not been resolved to date. I have also incurred roof damages on my current property in Jan 2010 due to the recurring rain and storms we have been experiencing. I refused to fix the roof given Absa's current history on paying out claims. 3 MONTHS has passed by, a contractor has been out to see it about a month ago and still NO FEEDBACK from absa. I have been phoning twice a week and leaving messages and nobody responds, including managers.It is absolutely ridiculous! It is as though we do not exist. I have also put through claims on my pool a month ago here again NO RESPONSE. Not even a claim number.

On 24th March 2010 I transferred an amount of R2539.45 from my bank in NZ to my ABSA account. These funds have not appeared in my account and as a result I have missed ABSA loan and credit card payments and also gone into overdraft. I will have to pay late payment charges and overdraft fees which I find unacceptable and would like to have these waived or reversed on my account. It is now the 9th April 2010 and the money has not been transferred to my account. How is it possible for money to take so long to reach my account? My bank in NZ has assured me that the funds were transferred shortly after I requested the transfer.

I would like an explanation as to what has caused the delay.

I applied for vehicle finance on 5 March, which was approved on the 9th of March. I signed the contract on 12 March, and ABSA paid the seller's bank for the settlement of their finance on 15 March. The problem is that ABSA used a cheque to pay this amount! How primitive is that! Wesbank are now refusing to release the registration papers as they are waiting for ABSA's cheque to clear, which is gonna take 10 working days! Then we still have to wait 7- 10 working days for Wesbank to send the registration papers, and only then will ABSA pay the balance of the purchase price to the seller! Why does ABSA, which is supposedly a leading bank, use a cheque to settle this amount, instead of an EFT which goes through after only like 1 business day! ABSA clearly knew this would delay the process, and they just simply have a couldn't care attitude to the fact that they are delaying the entire process, and frustrating both me (i want the transaction finalised and the car on my name) and the seller (who obviously wants her money!). ABSA does not seem willing to do anything to speed up the process. This is not good enough. I will seriously be looking into moving my bank accounts elsewhere.

In Oct 2009 we had to relocate to CT from pmb, I am currently not earning a income.I contacted ABSA regarding my Loan acc and my Credit Card I told them that im working but only earning comm, as yet I havent earned a blue cent, so they said no problem just go to the police station and do an affidavid, which i did and i sent it thru to them, toghether with a letter from my boss saying that i work on comm only. since then they have been harrasing me almost everyday then like a broken record I have to explain my situation to them every time, i am ******. This week alone the phone me 20 times. They harras me early in the morning during the day when im at work and even as late as 8pm at night. I told them to stop harrasing me and they wont. The one lady from the loans department said she will make a note again on the system the she will give me a courtasy call next month, which is ok, then the next day same old story, there should be a law against this, are the ppl at absa so STUPID they cant read the system before they phone you. I told them as soo as i work i will pay them. ABSA LEAVE ME ALONE, I WILL PAY YOU ONCE I START WORKING, i have been a customer of theirs for 9 years.

Company staff misleading clients and keep on phoneing
And asking to fax documentation for ref no 2141875 i faxed in 26 / 02 / 2010, 16 / 03 / 2010, and 14 / 01 / 2011 for id document and bank statment and number of times they state they did not recieve, eventually got hold of supervisor i need to go and get a claims form signed and stamped after been mislead for one year. I got very angry and told them not f**ken phone me and they can keep the f**ken money thank you s. Moodley contact no [protected] for feed back

We have a comprehensive household and car insurance through ABSA and recently claimed against our swimming pool equipment (chlorinator etc.) that had packed up. We had sent in our insurance claim to ABSA on the 21st of January 2010 and am currently still awaiting feedback resolution.

In February when I phoned the Durban claims dep. they advised that the manager had refused the claim as they were missing info from the assesor but that they would try and speed things up and get the missing info.

I again followed up this week and was told that they would reconsider as they now got the correct info report from the assesor but that it is sitting once again with the manager to review.

This is now over TWO months ongoing and absolutely shocking! As a client that holds an ABSA homeloan, household insurance and car insurance (two cars) I am fed up and just about ready to cancel my insurance. I have hardly ever claimed in the years that I have had the insurance and dont appreciate the lack of feedback. I have spent my time to phone them while no one has even bothered to phone me and give progress feedback.

Really FED UP! Im phoning soon to cancel my insurance!

I was informed that the rewards program was being cancelled and that i had to use my points. I ordered a microwave and a little tool box. After a period i received the tool box but no microwave. the box was broken, and i honed and informed them, they said no problem and that i was to throw it away and they will send me a new one. i have never received the replacement. The microwave eventually arrived in december, as we were leaving the very next day i did not open it and it remained in the box, in january we returned from holiday, the microwave was faulty, they informed me that the return and replace policy had expired even though i just taken it out of the box and it was never used, i was informed that it can not be replaced but fixed, now here is the major headache after it was returned fixed, the item had been scratched and the item looked old, the feet stands 3 of the 4 was missing, the screws at the back of the microwave was gone only 1 was left, it has never been used and looks terrible, i understand that there are other role players but it is through the ABSA program, who takes responsibility, is the new rewards program better, should i even bother or rather cancel it now.

On the 25th of January 2010 I advertised my laptop on junkmail for sale. On Friday the 29th I received a call from someone who wanted to buy my laptop. I explained to them I they could only get it if the payment cleared in my ABSA account. Later that day I noticed that there was a cheque payment of R10 000.00 made into my account and it showed on my internet banking that it was cleared and I could use the funds. Just to confirm I phoned the ABSA helpline and asked if the payment could be reversed as it was a cheque payment. I was assured that if the funds were cleared it wouldn't be reversed. On Monday the 1st of February 2010 I logged onto my internet banking and noticed that the cheque bounced and the funds were returned. I went to my ABSA branch in Randburg to find out why the funds was cleared and then reversed? I was then told that it cleared automatically because I had a good credit rating with ABSA. I really think this is unfair because I did not ask for this facility and have never had any cheques deposited into my account. Now I am in arrears by R12 600.00 and ABSA says it is not their problem. I also received a registered letter today to say that I now owe them money.

I reported to my personal banker in December 2009 that my Priority Pass will expire on 020110 and that I intend to travel again in the near future, thus I would like a new card issued to me. I was assured that the card will be ordered and issued on time. In Jan of 2009, I have not received any indication of the status of my card & called the bank again, where my personal banker again said she would follow up and get back to me – I was again deafened by silence from ABSA.

Today (020310) I went into the branch to do a follow up, which resulted in a phone around contest with nobody being able to help or shed any light on the subject. It seems that ABSA is creating a trend of zero service delivery with regard to my Priority Pass and the service surrounding it.

I certainly hope that ABSA would sort out their own offerings they make to clients and spare us the frustration of trying to solve service related incidents.

Yesterday, I visited absa's website and discovered that they have a gold banking package feature which caught my eye. I wanted to find out more information about this before having to go into an absa branch to apply or upgrade to this gold banking package, so I decided to email the address provided on the website.
This morning, I received an email back from janine williams, an absa consultant, simply stating:
'thank you for your email. Kindly visit your your nearest absa branch to find out more, or register online for internet and telephone banking. Is this not the reason I emailed the abovementioned address to 'find out more'?!

Honestly, the service and the consultant's attitude was pathetic and unprofessional.

I placed a storm damage claim through to Absa insurance on 2 Dec 09. I was told that an inspector could not come through regardless of how urgent the request was, because 'there are too many claims'. So I phoned again a week later and finally did get through to the manager after having spoke to about 20 consultants and supervisors. The referred company did come through finally about 8 days later to inspect but said that there was nothing they could do as they were going on leave that afternoon and would only come back mid Jan 2010. To top it, they said they would not fix the roof but only the ceiling... so inactual fact the problem will not be repaired but a slap together job just to shut an annoying customer up and who knows probably not even do any ceiling at all in the end. I have never ever seen such bad service in my life! This claim was for a family member, but now I will be cancelling 2 insurances through ABSA and will further be telling my extended family, friends and colleagues to do the same...What utter rubbish is this, they take your money but have no service and everyone passes the buck...I say, rather move to Outsurance, I certainly will be!

My experience with ABSA has been peculiar to say the least!
I started working in Jan 2009 as a Medical Practitioner, I decided to move
My account from another bank to ABSA, this proved to be a
GRAVE mistake. Since joining ABSA, I have been a loyal client: My account
Is always up to date, I have never requested an overdraft, payed up all my accounts
and yet when I ask for a loan,
ABSA turns their back on me!
I now receive help from other banks.

I had requested a bond, ABSA- Offered 30 000 less than what I requested! ABSA gave me a car loan last year,
One which I FINISHED paying within a year, now I'm requesting another car loan, ABSA- declined without rime or reason!
This doesn't make sense to me at all. I feel as though my account is not needed in this bank.
Can you imagine when I need to start my own practice and I need to set up, how
On earth can I rely on this bank!

ABSA, thank you for the slap in the face! I'm very dissapointed!
I plan on no longer being an ABSA client!

My advise to all you out there: Look for the ad that says:
"HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?"

Dr V

I received a letter from ABSA stating that I have to show them proof that my vehicle is insured. If I do not supply them with the necessary documentation within 14 days, they will insure the vehicle ON MY BEHALF! The cheeck! Firstly, I only pick up my mail once a month so it is more than 14 days ago since the letter has been issued. Secondly, if you want proof so badly CALL ME AND I WILL E-MAIL it to you or YOU CAN PICK IT UP AT MY HOUSE. Are you so petty that you have to resort to the small print and technical legalities to make an extra buck? I think it is high time I take my banking somewhere else; I’m tired of being treated like a high credit risk when there is no reason to doubt me! By the way, don’t expect me to be polite when you call. I tend to get very upset when somebody tries to con me!

I went to an Absa branch yesterday and enquired about using my credit card overseas. The consultant at the bank called credit card division and the call centre consultant just told the bank consultant that I can use up to R18 000. No further information was given and my card details were not even asked for or checked. I then called Absa credit card division today and was told that the maximum per day is R5000 and was asked my departure date and my arrival date and where I was going so that a note can be made on the system to prevent these claims been reported as fraudulent. Why was this not done when I went specifically into the bank yesterday? And to top it all I was given the incorrect information yesterday? Why do we bother going to the bank just to be given the incorrect information? The call center consultant should be retrained. Reflects very poorly on Absa and its staff.

I have just returned from a wasted 30 minutes spent at the ABSA branch in Edenglen. I merely wished to discuss home loan options with a consultant to gather information. A process that should not have taken longer than 10 minutes.

When I arrived at the branch I found that there was only 1 consultant serving all the client queries. At 1pm on a week day, how can 1 person be expected to manage a task like this. It's no wonder people were becoming impatient.

When I asked the administrator (who had previously told me she couldn't help) she said that they had requested from HO that a second consultant be appointed but the request was denied.

So after 30 minutes of my time I left, walked to the FNB directly above the ABSA, to find a panel of 4 consultants serving their clients.

Please explain why FNB can have sufficient staff to service their clients but ABSA does not seem to see this is an important priority?

I will take it that ABSA is not interested in financing my home, I will look for another financial institution that understands customer service.

Twice now I have had a problem with ABSA deducting money from my account without my authorisation and when queried, get fobbed of with 'we will refund this back into your account'. The first time was soon after I opened my account - I had applied for some small business package that didn't work on my PC. When I discussed this with the business manager he promised to stop the subscription, but I was still billed for 2 months after. When I again spoke to the business manager he promised I would be refunded. 2 years later this has still not happened. Then about 3 months ago Absa 'mistakenly' deducted R300 for some programme that I had supposedly applied for. Again I was promised an immediate refund. Needless to say this has not yet been done, and I'm not holding my breathe. BE VERY CAREFUL if you ever apply for an ABSA account - you may pay a lot more than you bargained for. I work *** hard for the little I earn, and I really don't see why I should fund the 'fat cats'.

ABSA have been sending my credit card statements to my post box for 3+ years and suddenly they started posting it to my home address and they changed my surname as well. I informed them and they tell me that I must go to the bank to change it back and I refuse as I did not change it. I now got a SMS and an email (both addressed to my WRONG surname) that I don’t comply with NCA and if I don’t send my FICA documents before 23 October 2009 they will probable cancel my accredit cards. No one at ABSA is willing to assist.