Feb
13
Here is one way ABN AMRO bank in India tries to act smart with its credit card holders. And take you on an ‘air’ ride, literally.
I got a call from the bank for a very tempting offer. This is the deal I was entitled to as a credit card holder issued by the bank:
- For a sum of Rs. 4,000 I would be entitled to four one way air tickets on Indian Airlines (now merged with Air India) to be used within India only. Taxes, surcharges and airport charges would be extra.
- These could be used on any sectors where this airlines flies.
- The vouchers would be valid for one year.
Since this was sounding too good to be true, I asked more than one salesperson of the bank if this was exactly what it was. And I was told yes. When I asked for it in writing, they said they cannot do that but there is no ambiguity here. All right, if you say so.
And when I opened the vouchers today to redeem them, what do I see? I had been totally misled by the bank’s representative. This is how:
- They had said I would get 4 air sectors on any on the sectors Indian Airlines flies on in India. The voucher that came has only limited destinations.
- They said I will get 4 sectors free (taxes and airport charges extra). But I am getting only one sector free where I have to take a return ticket.
- They did not say I have to travel with a companion. This offer says I can travel only one sector and that too with a companion. In other words, out of the 4 sectors, I have to take two as a return segment only and two for a companion. Why can’t I use all of these for myself? I was never told of this.
- I am also being asked to give a choice of two return sectors to choose from and they will tell me if it is available. And they will call to offer something else if these are not available. I should be able to decide where and when I want to go.
- Airport charges and taxes of Rs. 5,300 are being asked for. How can these be the same for all the sectors?
- I was told these would be valid for one year. I just noticed I have to book by Feb 17, 2008. I bought the offer sometime in September 2007.
- I am being asked to authorise a charge of Rs. 5,300 on my ABN AMRO card when I apply for the tickets. How can I authorise it when I do not know what dates and sectors I will be given? These should be conveyed to me first before I allow this.
Clearly the intentions of ABN AMRO were not bonafide when they were trying to sell this offer. I have written to the bank; will keep you posted with their response.
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7 Responses to “How ABN AMRO takes you for a ride, literally”
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hats off to amn amro…but this is’nt the story of thi bank.most of the banks take us for ride..be it city or standard charted.
This happens all over the World I’m afraid! A way for banks to sell us all more debts!
The Finacial Ombudsman should be able to help you out of these kind of ‘deals’!
Ahem! Welcome to the world of Banking.
I’ve worked with Standard Chartered, Citi, and ABN Amro. Trust me, this is not the only way they short-change you. This experience is limited to only their “marketing” offer. Wait till you experience their credit, fraud, and collections departments!
How about an intervention through Consumer Forrum
Ajay, a book that may interest you that talks about this kind of practise among corporations is “Gotcha Capitalism” by Bob Sullivan.
Basically what he writes about is the way big businesses (especially in the US or those influenced by the US) try to take advantage of customers on a mass scale, by introducing all kinds of hidden costs, fees, surcharges, and ploys to milk more and more money from lots of people, but in small amounts at a time, so few people notice and fewer complain.
And it works! Information technology has actually enabled this, but pure, old-fashioned greed is the underlying cause.
I don’t know about India, but in the US, these days it is almost impossible to truly understand your telephone bill, for example. On every bill, there will be a number of small charges added under various pretexts. Calling plans are so complicated that usually the plan you think you’re agreeing to is far different from what you actually get.
Credit card companies in the US are known for using these misleading tactics and traps on a massive basis. They regularly “bait and switch” customers with low “teaser” interest rates that can jump to a much higher rate if you are, for instance, one day late in making a monthly payment. To make matters worse, they regularly reduce the amount of time you have to pay each month, so the window during which you can pay and have the payment credited towards the due amount (sparing you penalty charges and automatic higher interest rates) grows smaller and smaller.
All this strongly supports my advice to ALL foreign countries: DO NOT FOLLOW U.S. WAYS. Do not try to emulate the US, particularly in your laws that say what corporations can and cannot do. (Look at what happened to the US in our current subprime mortgage and banking crisis, and YES, it is a crisis!)
To foreigners: If you do follow US corporate practises and philosophies, you will make a lot of customers and average citizens very unhappy.
Thanks for the tip Joe.
I agree with you - corporations are finding newer ways to con customers. Especially when they make small charges which customers would rather pay up than get into a long drawn out debate.
I agree that all banks take us for a ride but ABN Amro is a leader in the pack. When you visit the bank, employees are clueless to what is happening. They send you from one floor to another without regard to your time. These offers are only representative of the culture of this bank.