FNB has rejected any responsibility for a customer allegedly losing over R10,000 while depositing cash at one of its ATMs.
Richard Zwane, 65, a mechanic with a penchant for buying used cars from auctions, suspects that the money was stolen by a syndicate, including employees working at the bank’s Eyethu Mall branch in Dube, Soweto.
A police officer at Meadowland’s police station, who handles criminal cases from Eyethu Mall, told Sowetan Consumer that there had been a marginal increase in bank theft at various ATMs at the mall.
Sowetan Consumer previously reported the case of Capitec Bank client Nhlanhla Mbatha, who lost over R5,000, which was illegally withdrawn while he was checking his bank balance at an ATM.
The bank eventually refunded him after he approached Sowetan.
However, FNB said its investigation into Zwane’s matter had found no foul play and that his claim was invalid.
An aggrieved Zwane has since escalated his complaint to the Ombudsman for Banking Services.
His woes began on October 27.
“I had just paid a R10,000 deposit to buy a car at an auction. Once I had successfully bid for a R54,000 vehicle, I had only a few hours to pay off the R34,000 balance. The auction house doesn’t allow sold vehicles to be kept overnight, so I was under some pressure to pay the balance,” Zwane said.
He went home to collect the R34,000 and went to the bank to have it deposited into his account so he could make the transfer to the auction house.
“I went inside the bank, and a teller told me that they do not handle hard cash and that I must use the ATM to deposit. The teller said their security guard would assist me if I needed help,” Zwane said.
“I had never deposited money via an ATM before, so the guard, realising I was struggling, came over to assist. I didn’t mind because the teller had pointed him out to me,” he said.
Zwane said he and the guard made three deposits into the machine.
“I received two receipts — for R17,000 and R6,000 — but R10,300 was not accounted for. The bank could account for only R23,000 from my original R34,000,” he said.
I received two receipts — for R17,000 and R6,000 — but R10,300 was not accounted for. The bank could account for only R23,000 from my original R34,000
— Richard Zwane
Zwane alerted the teller who had told him to deposit the money at the ATM, and she referred him to the manager, who said he must report the matter to their head office.
“I walked out and met someone who gave me the contact numbers for the bank’s fraud line, and I also went to my branch, and they gave me a claim form,” Zwane said. “The head office referred me back to the Eyethu Mall, where the theft occurred, and I felt that I was being bounced around.”
Zwane said he received a call from the Eyethu Mall branch and was told that they had not found any evidence of foul play despite his suspicions of being robbed by a syndicate operating in the bank.
FNB corporate affairs executive Jacqui O’Sullivan told Sowetan Consumer that during their investigation they also reviewed CCTV footage.
“The investigation outcome showed no valid errors in the ATM when processing the deposit, with the total deposited amount confirmed as R23,700,” O’Sullivan said.
“The bank is confident that the correct processes and protocols were followed for logging the dispute claim. The fraud line appropriately referred the customer back to the branch as the issue was not fraud-related,” she said.
“Our review confirms that the investigation was correct and the claim was not valid. The matter is now with the ombudsman, and the bank is working on improving processes to ensure better customer communication going forward.”
O’Sullivan added that FNB was not aware of any reported fraud or theft at its Eyethu Mall branch.
Sowetan
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.