Transaction errors: 4.6m customers groan, demand N137bn from banks

Six Deposit Banks in Nigeria received 4,595,628 million complaints from their customers within a period of one year with the total amount of refund being claimed hitting N137.62 billion.

This was disclosed in the banks’ audited financial reports for the year 2022 filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

An analysis of the financial reports by our correspondent revealed that the banks’ over four million complaints were separate from the ones carried forward from the previous financial year, 2021.

Compared to the total amount being claimed by customers, which was N137.62 billion, the six financial institutions refunded N113.33 billion in the year under review.

The banks covered in this analysis include Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Zenith Bank Plc and the FCMB Group Plc.

The annual financial statements revealed that GTCO reported 1,006,380 complaints in the year with N2.158 billion in claimed amount, while Wema Bank reported 404, 179 complaints with N924million in claimed amount involved.

In its 2022 financial statement, Union Bank said that it received a total of 673,709 complaints with N30.27billion involved. United Bank for Africa  (UBA) reported 1, 408, 062 complaints and N54.61billion was recorded as the claimed amount. Zenith Bank recorded 475, 499 complaints with N17.57 billion in dispute while FCMB recorded 627, 799 complaints with N152.81 million as the claimed amount.

In the year under review, GTCO said it was able to resolve 998,737 complaints and N414.17million refunded as against N363.58million in 2021. At the end of the year, the number of unresolved complaints stood at 9, 248 and N19.17million in amount claimed. The group said that some of the outstanding complaints “include complaints on dispense errors on other bank terminal, failed bill payment, excess charges, etc.”

For Wema Bank, 412, 218 complaints were resolved within the year with N622million refunded, down from N1.24billion refunded in 2021. The number of unresolved complaints as of December 2022 was 13,642 with N10.27 billion in amount claimed involved.