By Dipo Olowookere
Banks operating in the country have been told to refund any excess charges from customers’ accounts with interest.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it would force any bank engaged in such to adhere to the laid down rules and regulations.
Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, the apex bank’s head of Consumer Complaints Management, Consumer Protection Department, Mr Fada David, disclosed that, “Part of the punitive measures is that if excess charges are discovered, they are refunded to consumers with interest.”
Mr David was speaking in respect of complaints by bank customers within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over excess charges by banks through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals.
He said the Monetary Policy Circular of the CBN gives certain guidelines as to how much should be refunded to customers if excess charges are discovered.
“Part of the punitive measures is that if excess charges are discovered, they are refunded to consumers with interest,” he said.
He said the CBN monitors all banks regularly to make sure that they do not short-change customers.
Mr David urged bank customers to read the CBN’s Guide to Bank Charges circular to know those charges that their banks were allowed to charge and the correct amount.
“Consumers should consult this document to know how much they are expected to pay for services.
“When you go through it and in a situation where you see charges that you do not understand, you have the right to write your bank and get them to explain what the charges are.
“In a situation where it becomes clear that the customer was charged excessively, the customer should get them to reverse it.
“You have the right to know how much you are charged from operating your account and make sure that the bank only charges the specified amount,” he said.
Also commenting on the issue, Mr Oludamola Atanda of the Consumer Education Division, Consumer Protection Department of the CBN urged bank customers to demand for their statement of account monthly. He said it would help customers to monitor their accounts closely.
“You have the right to demand for the right product and services. The bank cannot force you to go for a specific product or loan facility. You have the right to choose.
“If they give you a product you do not like, you do not have to take it. Its important for us to understand this.
“There is also the issue of right to privacy. My bank should not share my details with just anybody. For instance, a wife cannot come and say she wants details of her husband’s account.
“Only by court order can an account details by revealed to a third party,” he said.
Mr Atanda stated that at times, customers complain about certain bank products because they were not properly informed about the products.
“If I am taking a product, my bank has the responsibility to educate me on that product.
“If it is a savings product, a customer should know how it works, how many times to withdraw in a month, how much interest to expect and the minimum deposit on the account.
“We are saying that you have the right to demand good service. Those are the things we want to let customers know,” he said.
During the interaction, some bank customers said fear making withdrawals using other banks ATMs because of the continued charge of N65 for every transaction.
According to the customers, most banks within Abuja have programmed their ATMs to dispense only N10,000 or less per transaction, thus ripping off customers withdrawing more than that amount.
The customers complained that if they had to withdraw N100,000 or more through other banks ATM, it meant they would lose so much money.
They, however, called on the CBN and other relevant authorities to look into the matter so as to help poor Nigerians.
