Last night, I almost lost my appetite because of a visit to the Accra mall I had entertained earlier. This was less of a case of a "mauvais quart d'heure"; it was more of a mauvais TWO hours!I had gone to an ATM to withdraw a substantial amount of money, only to have a message flash across "your financial institution is unavailable". Rather used to this message, I dismissed it and went to another ATM.
To my horror, I had the barest minimum in my account--in other words ZERO money!
Within nano-seconds, I was on the mobile to my branch, who were simply just wasting my time trying to find someone I could make my complaint to.
To cut a long story short, after I had calmed down, I drew from an earlier experience and decided to call ECOBANK's toll-free 24/7 hotline. The lady was so, so sympathetic and calm about the whole thing. She took my details and apologised profusely, promising she would call me as soon as anything came up.
What had happened was that the bank had debited my account, when it displayed that message. This is not something I have not seen before; I should have been better-prepared. I had been withdrawing from this VISA-compatible ATM so many times I assumed everything would be A_ok.
In any event, I called the hotline some two hours later. A guy reassured me this time, explaining why such messages happen. He had good news! The machine had reversed automatically, and my money was back!
Note to self:
I have to say, though: Thankyou, ECOBANK!
I didn't think I would have to thank them so soon after being pissed off by some of the funny antics of some of their staff!
3 comments:
Ok, this has nothing to do with this post, but I remembered that anytime I check up on you, there is this music that plays at the opening. What is it?
And as for my bank, I am now going to check if there is a hotline. I have always been an admirer of EcoBank (I have blog posts on their activities).
I've had this happen to me with another bank. They also claimed that the machine automatically reversed its error. I do not even remember now if I verified that. But these things ought not to happen in the first place.
Btw, did you realise that whenever there's a problem with an ATM or a cheque, it is easier to call up and pester friends and relations in our banks than to use the official channels? That is BS (sorry).
Nana yaw Sarpong--you mean who sang it, or where it's coming from? When you look to the right side of the blog, you'll see "Taxi Tales" and "Accra Slideshow". That's the origin of the music. You can turn the music off by clicking the left-hand corner of slideshow; it ought to indicate for you.
On Ecobank, the only way of getting the banks to do our whims is by pestering them--frequently!;-)
Nana Yaw A--I fully agree they should not happen, though I understand why they do. I went around 5.30/6.00pm, and that's a highly-charged time to be withdrawing. There are some unwritten rules about these things for first-timers...when it's deja-vu, it's no big deal--just a major inconvenience. I believe I have learnt a serious lesson from that day!!
Sadly, I'm a small man, so I don't have or make friends, or have any relations in our banks;-))
Lucky for some! Maybe that's my strength; this way, I find avenues...like blogging and ghanaweb;-))
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