Dubious
staffers of Diamond Bank who tried to use delay tactics to con a
professor of his hard earned money have landed in hot soup after he
exposed them on Facebook.
A Professor of African History at Vanderbilt University, US, Moses
E. Ochonu has narrated painfully how some staff of Diamond Bank, Kaduna
South Branch tried to use delay tactics to con him of his hard earned
money he wired home to his family due to urgent need.
He wrote down his frustration which forced many other people to
share their painful experiences in the hands of criminal elements in
some of the banks in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, the public exposure
forced the bank to act swiftly.
Ochonu wrote:
"Diamond Bank of Fraud?
This afternoon I have a massive grouse against Diamond Bank.
Some of its officers are angling to fraudulently appropriate my
hard-earned money.
I sent some money from my Nigerian bank account to my brother
through his account in Diamond Bank to take care of some urgent family
problems. Unknown to me, that type of account is not meant to receive
"large" (their word to my brother, not mine--never mind that the amount
in question is not even large) deposits. Which raises the question: if
that type of account cannot receive "large" deposits, as they say, why
the heck did my transfer go through successfully? Why did Diamond Bank
not simply reject the transaction? At any rate, the transaction went
through and my account was debited.
When I called my younger brother to ask if he got an alert, he
said he had not. He then went to Diamond Bank's Kaduna South branch
where he has his account. That's when the fraudulent folks at Diamond
Bank unveiled their elaborate scheme to hold on to my money. First they
told him to go home, that the money would return to my account in 48
hours. When that didn't happen, he returned there. He asked them to
check his account. He saw a manager (or someone higher than a teller)
who checked his account and told him that the money was not in it but
that since the transfer went through, I should contact my bank to
request a recall.
I promptly did that, calling my bank's customer care number in
their Lagos HQ using expensive international calling credits. They
requested the recall. Since these events began two weeks ago, I have
called my bank four more times, and they told me each time that they
sent reminders to Diamond Bank and that they had not heard anything
back. Apart from sending reminders, there was nothing they could do,
they said.
Meanwhile, in Kaduna, my folks have been going to Diamond Bank
to no avail. They told my brother to bring documentary evidence of the
transfer. I sent a screen shot of my account's transfer transactions
page, which clearly indicates the transfer to my brother's Diamond Bank
account. My brother printed it and took to the bank.
They kept playing their usual games. My folks were passed
around from one desk to another, each one confirming that indeed the
funds were with Diamond Bank. They will not give the money to my brother
but will return it to my bank account, they said. This was fine with me
and my folks. But then the Diamond Bank folks introduced yet another
nonsense, saying that my brother should go to my bank's Kaduna branch
with the internet transfer printout and obtain a receipt. This made
little sense but he obliged. He went to my bank but the official he saw
did something even better. He picked up his phone and called his Diamond
Bank counterpart in the Kaduna South Branch. He confirmed both my
account and the transfer. After their conversation, he assured my
brother that the Diamond Bank people will return the money to my
account. Of course it didn't happen.
Today, they saw another official at my bank who said he could
not understand why the Kaduna South Diamond Bank people would not simply
call their headquarters, obtain permission, and return the money to my
account, something that should take less than 30 minutes. This ordeal
has been going on for two weeks. The family problem that the money is
supposed to take care of remains unsolved. My folks have gone to Diamond
Bank four times, spending their money on public transportation.
It is clear to me at this point that the Kaduna South Diamond
Bank people simply want to tire my folks out, frustrate them, and hold
on to this money or simply pocket it for themselves, knowing full well
that I do not live in Nigeria. My sister, who accompanied my brother to
the bank a couple of times, told me that on one occasion the manager (or
the official they were talking to) even angrily asked why they, instead
of me, the owner of the originating account, was pursuing this matter.
Imagine! And he knew from the get go that not only do I not have an
account with them, I do not live in Nigeria.
For my part, I called my bank again this morning and told them
that they had to escalate this matter on my behalf instead of merely
sending reminders to Diamond Bank that are never replied. I suggested
that their inter-bank department pick up a phone and call their
counterpart in Diamond Bank and resolve the matter to ensure the
immediate return of my money.
The Diamond Bank people are up to no good and must be called out.
I realize that Nigerian banks are going through a hard time
after years of abandoning core banking operations to chase government
deposits, to make fraudulent loans, to package dubious investment
instruments, to participate and profit from Forex round tripping, and to
perpetrate other shady schemes that are now more difficult with the
implementation of TSA and the ongoing recession. But that is not a
reason to hold on to my money or to attempt to appropriate it. It's not a
reason to unethically try to detain other people's funds.
If you have stories like this, please share so that, together,
we can shame Diamond Bank and any other Nigerian bank whose officials
may be engaging in these shenanigans."
Read also experiences of how banks have
used dubious means to hostage people's money as shared by dissatisfied
customers in Nigeria.
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