Moyinoluwa Atoyebi (pseudonym), a lawyer from Lagos State, hotlisted her First Bank dollar card in February 2022 after it failed to serve the purpose for which she got it. But two years later, First Bank continues to deduct $10 monthly from her account for ‘Visa card maintenance’.
Atoyebi told FIJ that she received two separate emails confirming that the card had been hotlisted as she requested at a First Bank branch, following a customer care representative’s suggestion to hotlist the card.
She explained that after blocking the card, she moved on and did not recall the details of the incident until May 2024, when she realised that First Bank had deducted $10 for Visa card maintenance. Atoyebi said she asked for an explanation but did not receive a coherent response.
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“Someone said the Visa card was probably still in operation. Two months later, there was another deduction. The first read, ‘Visa card maintenance deduction for 2022,’ and the second, ‘for 2023,’ when I printed my statement of account,” Atoyebi told FIJ.
The email which shows her card was shortlisted in 2022.
“I asked them at the bank what happened, but they gave many different explanations. When I checked my email, I saw two emails from First Bank, which confirmed that the card had been hotlisted.
“When I forwarded these emails to them, their best explanation was that I had hotlisted the card linked to my pounds account, not my USD account. I asked what they meant because I have only ever had one Visa card in my life, and an ATM swallowed it. So, where did the other one come from?”
Her email to First Bank after she observed the strange $20 deduction.
According to Atoyebi, while trying to resolve the issue, an acquaintance at First Bank’s headquarters informed her that the card had not been hotlisted.
Afterwards, First Bank sent an email stating that the card was hotlisted in October.
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Continuation of her email
“The First Bank X handler said that hotlisting means I would no longer be charged for maintenance. They claimed I was being charged because the card was active. I then asked for a report on the card to see its associated activity, but they couldn’t provide that,” she said.
“I feel misled. Why are they giving different explanations for the matter? If what I did was successful, why am I paying for the bank’s ineptitude? I need answers. I would like them to refund the money, however small it is. An apology is necessary for this.”
When FIJ contacted First Bank via email on Wednesday, the bank stated that it could not respond to a third party.
“Note that the request will need to be addressed by the account owner at one of our branches,” the bank added.
The post First Bank Redefines ‘Hotlisting’ After Taking Lagos Lawyer’s $20 for Card She Blocked 2 Years Ago appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.