Pessimism is my middle name. Review on Standard Chartered Visa Credit Card

Have you ever applied for a Credit Card, tried to open an account in a bank, filled up forms for reserving a ticket on trains, or booked a ticket in any airlines. They all want to know your postal address including PIN number, telephone number, residence, office, and mobile, e- mail address, alternate e- mail address, and in some cases “land mark” while coming to your office or residence. But they will use it only when it matters to them. If it is going to affect you they will not get in touch with you at all.

Let me give my experinece. I hold a Standard Chartered Credit card since August 1999. I bought a return air ticket to Trivandrum on Indian Airlines in November 2001 using this credit card. The card statement is generated on 8th of the month and I should have received the statement by around 15th of next month through a designated courier and the due datefor payment is 28th of the month. All other credit cards I hold have standing instructions to debit the full amount on due date to my savings account except the Standard Chartered bank where I have no account. But I used to pay the full amount by dropping the cheque in a deposit box kept at a supermarket close to my residence. But in December 2001 I did not get a statement and I made my first mistake of not following the rule which is reproduced as below

“Your statement is generated every month on the “Statement Date” shown on the reverse. If you do not receive it within 7 days from that date kindly call your nearest Customer Service Helpline.We will advise you of the amount payable and arrange to send you a duplicate. This will help you in avoiding unnecessary charges”

This is printed on the back side of the statement in font size 4.

I made the first mistake of not remembering that I have not received the statement and calling for a duplicate.But I received a statement dated 8-1-2002 on 12-1-2002 which charged me Rs 75.00 as “Late charges” and Rs 453.55 as “Interest”. I called up the customer service helpline and explained that since I did not receive the statement I forgot to pay but I am sending the payment including the “Late Charges” and ''Interest'' immediately even before the due date. I deposited a cheque for the full amount ( Rs 8694.98) on 12 Jan 2002 in their collection box at the supermarket, and pinched myself for forgetting to call them. On reaching home I went through the Standard Chartered credit card account and found that I have not any missed payment since August 1999 or made a partial payment anytime. Well that does not absolve me from my mistake of not calling for a duplicate statement.

While checking my saving account transactions through the netbanking facility (HDFC Bank) on 12 February 2002 , I found that an amount of Rs 8694.98 has been debited and then credited to my account on the same day ie: 18 January 2002. I did not require the services of Mr. Sherlock Holmes to find that something has gone wrong with the payment I made to Standard Chartered Credit Card. So I called up the Customer Service Help line and after reading out my bio-data the woman at the other end said that my cheque was returned back by the bank due to a “technical error” which she was unable to explain. I asked if I could get the cheque back. “No Sir, we can not do that as the cheque is now the property of Standard Chartered”, OK, Can I have a look at the cheque?, “No Sir it is not with me and in is in a different office”. Understandable, I said to myself, but then why didn’t you call me and tell me that the cheque has been dishonoured?

No Sir, there are thousands of dud cheques and we can not call all of them

Ok, couldn’t you send me an e-mail?

No Sir,that is not our policy.

Hmm, what about a simple letter ?

It costs money and time to write a letter

Then how will you inform me that my cheque is returned

In the next month statement Sir,

So I should wait till 8th of February to know how much I owe you.

Yes Sir.

So I decided to make a visit to their office to find out the exact amount (it was now 8982.00 with late charges and interest charges), then went to my bank and made a demand draft for the amount, went back to Standard Chartered Credit Card Customer Service office, handed over the DD and my card along with a letter asking to cancel my card for ever to the Manager. This happened on 14 February 2002 and I had requested for a written document of receiving the amount, cancelling my card and delisting me from their customer list. It is 18 March 2002 and I am yet to receive any communication.

Incidentally I found what went wrong with my cheque. I had written Rs 8694.98 in figures and “Eight Thousand Six Hundred and ninety four and paise sixty eight only” making a difference of a 30 paise. That is another story

If the “customer service” officer had called me and informed me it would have cost them Rs 1.50 paise. Writing a letter would be Rs 4.00, sending an e-mail will cost nothing. But then Standard Chartered is now richer by Rs 842.00 on my account by not using the data I provided when I enrolled myself. I have also counted 27 promotional mails I had received trying to promote condoms to condominiums from Standarad Chartered.

The finest part is the climax. I had paid and cleared and even cancelled my Credit Card on 14 Feb 2002.After that I started receiving phone calls saying that I have not made the minimum payment due in December. Two days later two Rambo looking guys turned up at my apartment complex looking for me saying they are from Standard Chartered Bank and want to offer some financial advise!!!! The security people of my complex told them to come after 7.00PM when I return from office. That is how a “Reputed Financial Institution” treats their client.

When I missed the payment, they remembered my telephone number, my residential address and even the land mark to reach there.

Did you ever got a call from an airline saying your flight is delayed or cancelled?

Did you ever got a call from Railways that your RAC is upgraded?

Did you ever got a call from your bank saying that there is a technical error in your cheque?

Did you ever got a call back from the customer service of your Internet Service Provider saying that they rectified the defect and now you can log on?

If your answer is yes, please let me know the city and I want to migrate there.

Ram