For many years there have been numerous complaints against Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd. The Trinidadian owned bank probably serves the most customers in Guyana because of their many locations, many employers utilize their services to pay their employees and people can easily access loans.
However, there are issues with its operations and years of customers complaints seemed not to have resulted in any major improvements. Over the years, customers have constantly complained about monies being deducted from their accounts. People have alleged that there were online transactions using their accounts unbeknownst to them, and some have even discovered money that was mysteriously credited to their accounts. This seems to have happened to people who do not regularly use their accounts.
Late last year, the bank upgraded its system. Customers were resultantly inconvenienced for a few days because they could not access monies at the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). I did not mind because the bank did inform customers and I thought the upgrade would lead to improved services. However, immediately after the upgrade there was confusion. In the weeks thereafter many people were spending as much as nine hours in the bank trying to resolve various issues. The crediting of some people’s wages and salaries was delayed, and some could not access their accounts. The crowds at the various branches daily were unacceptable for any bank at this point in history. Many calls to the customer service went unanswered. I know this because during this time I called the bank several times for information about an issue and the phone was never answered. During this time some people I know closed their accounts because they were frustrated.
Finally, the issues from the upgrade seemed to have been resolved and I must say services were improved, especially at the ATM. For example, the time it would take for a cheque to clear when deposited at the ATM became shorter. I also heard reports that the online system became easier to navigate.
However now there seems to be major issues at this bank again. Wednesday night on social media several people advised that customers of the bank check their accounts. It was alleged that accounts were being debited. This resulted in many overdrafts. I saw one person who had an overdraft of over three hundred thousand dollars.
Because of issues with the bank over the years, I made the decision some time ago not to leave significant amount of monies in my account for any extended period. Most Guyanese are not rich, and no bank should cause so many issues because of their incompetence.
On Thursday I checked my account and discovered that mine was also debited. Upon enquiry I was told that the bank was only now charging for transactions that date back as far as October. The explanation I thought was ridiculous and further exposed the incompetence of this bank. I rarely become angry, but I was furious. Not only because the explanation was ridiculous that a bank would take as long as four and five months to charge customers for online transactions, but the person I spoke to was arrogant.
I understand that in times like these the staff would be under tremendous pressure. I too would be frustrated and probably seem arrogant if I had to deal with numerous customers throughout the day complaining about same issue. In retrospect, maybe I could have exercised a bit more patience and understanding with the person I dealt with, but the business of money is no joke and I will not take it lightly when people dismiss my concerns with an explanation that is absurd.
This is not a rare issue with this bank.
This bank owes the Guyanese people several apologies for its poor services. It owes all the people who made allegations about monies being debited from their accounts who were never reimbursed or had to fight to be. I heard a report of a person having to send a lawyer’s letter to the bank to recover their money. I am sure there are others who did the same. The incompetence of this bank is affecting Guyanese from all walks of life. Having been in business for many years, it is unacceptable that their services are so poor.
Unfortunately, after my dealings with the bank on Thursday I have resolved to close my account. There are others who I know who are also closing their accounts. Fortunately, we have options. Too often service providers disrespect us and make little effort to improve their services.
I do not know if before this piece is published the bank will issue some grand statement or apology to customers who have been affected, but the fact that the bank did not divulge any information according to my knowledge before they decided to debit customers’ accounts reflects how they regard their customers. They do not care about the people who might have had their last in the bank and because their accounts were debited and now in overdraft they do not know where their next meal will come from. Some people are disputing the debits because they regularly check their accounts and their monies were deducted at the time of their transactions.
The thousands of Guyanese who have complained over the years about this bank’s poor services are not delusional. This bank cannot say that all the allegations are untrue.
I shared with a friend that I was going to write this piece. She asked if I was not afraid of repercussions. I was reminded that many Guyanese are often afraid to speak for fear of victimization and therefore often nothing changes. That is quite sad. It is time we come together and demand better from this bank.
