Bank Alfalah Limited Reviews & Complaints
By: Iqtedar Iqbal
Contact information:
Bank Alfalah Limited
bankalfalah.com Pakistan
This bank attempts to retain the money of its customers by fraudulent means. It allows for deposits and deductions without hassle, but when it comes to withdrawals, they forget their own official terms and conditions, especially in the case of a joint account and when an account has been inactive beyond the limited period allowed. Contrary to clause 20.2 of the bank’s “Terms and conditions governing the account”, and unlike other banks governed by the same State Bank of Pakistan, this bank does not accept alternate forms of identification such as a valid passport. It also fails to honour the terms for a joint account which allows for any one of the account holders to operate the account despite fulfilling all other conditions such as being present in person and possessing bank documents including cheque book, ATM card, and national identity documents. This goes against clause 7.1 and our express indication on the original account opening form for allowing either account holder to operate the account. There are also other related issues such as negligence in recording particulars and lacking in trusting its own customers.
In our personal case, the newly appointed bank manager at the branch concerned has been helpful otherwise, but the staff state they are only employees and therefore unable to do anything as they are only accustomed to dealing with routine matters. This matter was taken to the bank’s head office in Lahore, but they only reiterate the existing position of the branch and keep closing the case which as yet is unresolved. If a customer had owed the bank money, we can expect the bank to come down hard through their recovery teams, but when it is the other way round, they engage in malpractices to do their best to withhold their money. This fraudulent practice may affect other Pakistani banks as well. They accumulate withheld amounts and later declare them as “unclaimed funds” and hand them over to their government.
Although it is likely that our own case is going to be resolved soon, I considered it important to highlight this fraud so that others can beware of such banks. I recommend account holders to at least keep a copy of the original account opening form when opening their account, and a copy of the bank’s terms and conditions to point out the breaches. Furthermore, in the event of being a victim of such malpractices by banks, do inform the head office even if we cannot expect much from them, involve the Banking Mohtasib if necessary, take full advantage of online complaint forums such as this one, and mention the problem in the media including social media. The collective voice of consumers can make a difference inshallah. No financial institution should be permitted to get away with such fraud.