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Controversy over the automatic renewal of a credit card by bank

DR DUSHAN Motwani said, "I opened a fixed deposit account with the RAK Bank two years ago. I was even offered a credit card which I accepted. When that card expired, they replaced it with a new one without asking me.

As I didn't want it, I did not activate the card. Then I approached the bank to close my account and get my money back. They told me that as per their policy, my money would be returned after 45 days. Although I was not aware of this condition, as no one had bothered to tell me about it, I decided to wait for it. More than 80 days have passed and still there's no sign of my money being returned to me. I have repeatedly contacted the bank and they keep telling me that my problem will be solved soon. Apart from my original amount, I also want the interest for the extra days."

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MURRAY Sims, Head of Personal Banking, RAK Bank said, "As a standard practice, all credit card issuing banks automatically renew credit cards prior to their expiry dates. The same was done in this case. It is the cardholder's responsibility to notify the bank in writing if he does not wish to continue the membership.

"Dr Motwani submitted his request to close the credit card on 16/5/06 and the same was duly closed. Regarding his visit to the branch on 16/5/06, our staff advised him that the fixed deposit would be held for 45 days and thereafter he should visit the branch so that the funds held could be released.

"However, he visited the branch on 17/7/06 and verbally advised our customer service officer not to release the funds until we received further instructions from him. Subsequently, we received his letter dated 9/8/06 stating that his funds have not been released even after 80 days and we should be paying him interest for the extra 36 days.

"Until 25/4/06, a total interest of Dh 35.53 has been paid on his fixed deposit. No further interest is payable as the bank charges a one per cent fee for the upliftment of the fixed deposit which offsets the one per cent interest payable from 25/4/06 till date. The Service and Price Guide clearly states that 'Early Upliftment is only at the Bank's discretion and is subject to penalty'.

"Please note that the fixed deposit has been released on 14/8/06 and the funds have been transferred to his savings account with us. Our staff has been in touch with him and he has been updated on the status of his request."

Solve rodent menace

NISHAD, who lives in Deira's Naif Road area, called the Khaleej Times hotline complaining that rats and other pests are wreaking havoc in the buildings in the area. "When I complained to the watchman of my building about the menace and asked him to take necessary steps, he said that all the buildings in the area are facing the same problem. We use the pest control service regularly, but it has not been of great help in eliminating the problem," he said.

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WHEN Khaleej Times contacted an official at the Dubai Municipality, he said, "Pest control in private buildings is not the duty of the civic body. The owner of the building is responsible for it."

"If the residents have any problem regarding pests, they should immediately inform their building owner who should hire a private pest control company to solve the problem," he said.

My street still in the dark

ADNAN, who lives in the Old Niyadat area in Al Ain (near the Al Niyadat Clinic), once again called the Khaleej Times hotline to say that there are still no street lights in the area. He requested the authorities to arrange for street lights in that area. He said that once his car almost hit a pedestrian because he couldn't see clearly in the darkness while he was driving. He said that he saw in the newspaper the reply from the official to his complaint earlier. But no action had yet been taken to solve the problem, he noted.

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