Banking on a fair partner

It is understandable that the economic crisis is influencing the behavior of people as well as business attitudes in general. But my bank's business ethics are rapidly deteriorating which, according to my personal judgment, is beyond common laws and is no longer acceptable.

This is my story. I was already late with a certain payment and was therefore forced to pay it on the same day I went to the bank, but later discovered that my current account did not cover the amount I was due to pay.

I consequently wanted to fill my account with fresh funds from overseas, as I had done in the past with no problem. To my surprise, however, the bank's manager informed me that he could not accept personal checks for immediate crediting anymore, but explained this former routine procedure would now take four weeks until the money could actually be credited to my account.

Even though I consider this new rule very strange for an old client, this left me no other option than to break my deposit. I was aware of the fact that I would lose the interest, which alone is already a heavy blow, but on top of this the bank's manager explained that to prematurely break my deposit I must pay a penalty of 5 percent from the deposited amount plus a Rp 50,000 administration fee.

It is obvious that banks are presently taking advantage of the difficult monetary times, but they are definitely overshooting the limits. It has always been my experience that you can never win against a bank, but in my opinion bank customer service has never been as bad as it is now during the economic crisis, when you are really in need of a fair partner.

MANFRED WEBER

Jakarta