BANKING HALL OF SHAME

If you read my last blog and your jaw dropped from the kind of service I got from that restaurant, then brace yourself for something even more absurd! If we were to give awards for the worse service providers in Ghana, the banks would be right on top of the list. And Barclays Ghana would be miles ahead on the banking list. They are unbelievably shocking!

I walked into a Barclays bank branch once and saw about four people crowded around one person, so I moved closer to find out what was going on. The poor man was not in any kind of trouble, the other customers were just waiting for him to finish filling out his deposit slip so they can use the pen! I looked round and was surprised to see there were only 2 pens available for customers to use! I did not need to use a pen, but I went over to one of the guys sitting behind the desk to ask to borrow a pen. Now this guy is sitting there with an air of importance about him like he’s the governor of the Bank of Ghana! He offers me no smiles, so I offer none back. And he looks at me like I'm disturbing his otherwise perfect day. He had a pen on his table but it had been securely taped to his desk with a note on the pen saying “do not remove this pen from this desk”! At this point I start laughing. It’s so pathetic I cannot help but laugh. Well the man would not let his very expensive Bic Ballpoint pen leave his sight so the queue for the pen on the other side of the banking hall only grew bigger.

Well, I left that and went off to another desk to try and get my own issue sorted. I had an issue I expected to be resolved within days if not hours. I had an account with Barclays Bank Ghana I had not touched in about 3 years. The lady at the desk said the account would have been made dormant, but she would have to call another department to confirm if the money was still there! I left my money with a bank not a susu man so if I left it there for 3 years, I would expect it to be there untouched. As calm as a cucumber I sat and waited for about 10 minutes whiles she talked on the phone. When she came off the phone she informed me the dormant department would ring her back in a couple of minute to confirm they had knowledge of my defunct account. 30 minutes and a few tweets later, I'm still sat there, waiting! I go back to her to ask for an answer and she tells me the dormant department has not phoned back yet. Now she senses I'm not very happy so she rings back the dormant department only to be told their “system is down” so they cannot confirm anything for me! At this point I’m fuming, so she suggests I leave my number with her and she will ring me as soon as she gets an answer.

She called after a day to tell me my money was with them but I would have to come and fill some forms to be able to claim it back. So I go fill out these forms, get my ID photocopied then I’m told it would take 2 weeks for them to carry out all their checks! And I would have to pick up the cheque in person, but I had less than 2 weeks in Ghana. How hard is it to compare my photo ID with the photo they already have and check if my signatures match?! At this point I’m absolutely livid, but this guy in front of me just sits and listens and all he can say is its out of his hands, its company policy- the process takes 2 weeks and I have to come pick up the cheque in person. Now my only option is to go up the hierarchy. So I get on my phone to the Barclays Ghana headquarters. A few harsh words later, they agree the cheque can be collected by proxy. With all done, I’m told I have to ring back in 2 weeks to find out if my cheque had come through to them! I could only laugh! It’s just unbelievable! I’m sure I would not have to go through so much hustle to get money off the tax man!

Fast forward 3 weeks and I’m still trying to get hold of anyone from Barclays Bank! It’s either the phone rings or no one answers or someone answers only to be told the gentleman who signed my forms is in some meeting! So now I’m left with no choice than to send someone to that Barclays Bank branch and also boycott all Barclays ATMs worldwide! I think I’d spit at any Barclays ATM I come across. LOL!