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Charges: customers lament, want CBN to caution banks

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Customers of various banks have continued to lament over the numerous debit alerts from their accounts in spite of their appeals to banks.

By Ginika Okoye

Customers of various banks have continued to lament over the numerous debit alerts from their accounts in spite of their appeals to banks.

Some of them who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, ,ppealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and other relevant regulatory agencies to wade into the matter.

They said the charges were discouraging and unnecessary.

Mrs Helen Agodo, a customer with First HoldCo Plc said that daily debits from her account by her bank was becoming unbearable.

Agodo said that some days, she could receive debit alerts totally about N1,000 from her bank account .

”In fact, I do not blame some people who decide not to put their monies in a bank.

”There was a day I calculated the debit alert  charges that I received from my bank, it was up to N1,000 just for a day.

”You will now imagine the total amount the bank will get if they do the same deduction from like 1,000 to 2,000 of their customers,” she said.

Miss Cheta Ugochukwu, a customer of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, described the charges as unfair.

Ugochukwu said the development was not a good or sincere business model.

”Personally, I do all my transactions electronically and I thought that is the basis for the cashless policy of CBN).

”My bank charged me about N1,146 as SMS alert for one month, this to me is too much.

”I wanted to disable my bank SMS when the amount was increased and rely only on my app receipt but on a second thought, I decided to leave it but now, my mind is made up.

”I was even charged N100 as Electronic Money Transfer Levy contrary to N50 stipulated by the regulation.

”I wonder how they calculate this because it is unfair with the current state of the economy,” she said.

Mr Usman Idris, a customer with Fidelity Bank Plc, said that more than N3,700 was deducted from her current account for maintenance.

Idris expressed regret that when she reported to the bank for clarifications, she was asked to write the bank officially.

”They told me to write because I asked for clarification but when they wanted to withdraw my money, they did not ask for my clarification.

”This is so sad,” he said.

Mr Roland Garba, a customer with Access Holdings Plc, appealed to the CBN, NDIC and other regulatory agencies to wade into the matter with a view to addressing the complaints.

A bank official who pleaded anonymity, said their bank charged customers in line with the CBN guide on bank charges. (NAN)