• He said the most mistreated ones are the people with little deposits and that must be checked
• It is important for the Bank of Ghana to apply sanctions so that the banks can treat their customers fairly
A Banking Consultant, Dr. Richmond Akwasi Atuahene has said that the Bank of Ghana needs to get tougher on banks to ensure that customers are treated fairly.
He said sanctions must be applied to banks that do not treat customers right when they visit the banking hall or even through electronic means.
Dr. Atuahene said poor and unfair customer service have been going on in the industry for some time now and it has been long overdue. He said customers’ sentiments have never been taken seriously by banks, especially those with small deposits; hence, any proactive effort by the regulator to end these unprofessional and unfair practices should be commended and be given the needed support.
“It is important for the Bank of Ghana to apply sanctions so that the banks can treat their customers fairly. Just consider one typical example with ATMs. Sometimes, you want to use the ATM and you get there and the machine will tell you ‘out of service’. In most cases, this is because there is no money in the ATM. Meanwhile, that customer decided not to go to the banking hall because he knows he can withdraw from an ATM closer to him. If this is not poor customer service, then what is it?" he said.
Following a survey conducted by the Market Conduct Examinations Office set up by the Bank of Ghana, serious lapses in the structures, systems, and processes in place to promote consumer protection and the early resolution of customer complaints, and to generally assess compliance with relevant market conduct rules were revealed.
According to Dr Atuahene, it will not be enough for the regulator to just expose what the banks are doing to their customers, but must follow-up with severe sanctions in order for them to take issues bordering on customer service seriously as all customers have been victims of unfair service one way or another.
“So, it is a very laudable move from the Bank of Ghana, and they should really enforce it very well. Some of the banks are really taking advantage of customers by charging unapproved fees, among others. It happened to me some time ago. I wrote a cheque for someone, and because he cashed it at a different branch, even though it is the same bank, I was charged a fee. So, this is an example of the unfair treatment of customers I am talking about. The Bank of Ghana should really be tough on the banks for poor customer service,” he said.
Banking Consultant, Dr. Richmond Akwasi Atuahene