Customers' deposits

Customers' deposits

From Pikiran Rakyat

I am an ex-customer of the Bandung branch of Bank Putra Multikarsa (BPM). I had just applied for a loan with my fixed deposit as collateral when the bank was suspended in December 1999. At that time, as the first installment was not yet due, I tried to negotiate with the bank to cancel my loan as I was worried the arrangement would later get complicated. I agreed to return the funds I had received or else I didn't have to pay the installments because the value of my collateral was bigger than my loan.

Yet, the bank told me the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) had taken over its business and that the agency required me to pay the monthly installments otherwise I had to pay the interest on the loan interest. It is said that banks will guarantee their customers' deposits. But, the reality shows that I cannot get my fixed deposit back even though I paid my debt off in Oct. 10, 2000. The installments were paid every month to IBRA via BCA of Sudirman branch in Jakarta. I have followed all the advice from IBRA of Jl. Banceuy in Bandung to make the necessary papers.

Finally I was asked to personally contact Mr. Budi Setio at IBRA head office in Jakarta. Yet, the answer remains the same: "Please wait, will you."

I've been waiting for over two years now for the return of my deposit, now in the hands of IBRA. How much longer must I wait? Who is responsible for the case? My plan to do business with the money has therefore become uncertain.

What should I do then as I need the money badly? Hopefully, IBRA will not turn into an "Indonesian Businessmen Robbing Agency". Hundreds or even thousands of people, perhaps, share the same fate as me.

TUTY

Bandung