An aggrieved bank customer should not be afraid to lodge complaint with the CBN because the apex bank spells out the rights and obligations of both customers and their banks. Some of them include the following:
•Rights of a bank customer
A bank customer has the right to disclosure of information from his/her bank on goods and services the bank offers. The information provided must be complete, relevant and truthful. The bank must explain to the customer’s understanding all contractual terms and charges prior to the consummation of any agreement or contract. This right enables customers to have relevant information in order to make rational choices. It amounts to a breach of the customer’s right if a bank fails to provide this information or deliberately misleads the customer in any way.
•Right to choose
A bank customer has the right to select from the range of products and services made available by his/her bank at competitive prices. This means that as a customer, you can, at all times, decide on the product or service to accept/purchase and the ones to decline. It is wrong for a bank to restrict your choices or compel you to accept/purchase products or services that are ill-suited for your needs. Where the customer is not satisfied with the bank’s service delivery on any product or service, the customer has the right to end the contract or even the banking relationship provided all outstanding commitments are settled by the customer.
•Right to safety
This right requires a bank to guarantee all its customers a secure and conducive banking environment devoid of threats to their safety and health. The bank customer has the right to be reasonably protected from accidents while on the premises of their bank. They also have the right to be protected from the negative effects of pollution of any kind whether arising from their bank’s operations or from other sources. It is necessary to stress that a bank is obligated to adhere strictly to applicable safety laws and directives to ensure that the customer’s safety and wellbeing is adequately guaranteed while the customer is on the premises of the bank.
•Right to privacy and confidentiality
As a bank customer, you have the right to freedom from disclosure of your account details by the bank as well as intrusion into your account by third party. In other words, your bank must not divulge your account information to a third party; the bank must also protect your information from unauthorised access by a third party.
There are, however, exceptions to this right as follows: Where the bank is required by law to make disclosure; and where the customer consents to the disclosure.
•Right to redress
A bank must provide its customers a redress mechanism to express their displeasure or grievance. The mechanism must be free, accessible, transparent, timely and convenient. The customer has a right to efficient complaints management system through which he/she can lodge complaints against the bank. The bank customer also has the right to be kept abreast of the resolution process (acknowledgement, feedback, updates, explanation) and ultimately, basis of decision. Where the customer is not satisfied with the decision of their bank, they have the right of review either by the bank, the CBN or the court.
Right to good service
All customers have a right to value for their money which involves the right to be treated with respect and dignity by banks and their representatives. A bank would have failed if it was unable to offer quality and value-adding banking services to a customer. Part of this right is that the bank must provide appropriate response to customer needs and complaints.
•Right to equality
This right requires that a customer is treated equally as other customers regardless of differences in financial standing/deposit balance, physical ability, age, gender, ethnicity, or creed. It is wrong for a bank to offer preferential treatment to some customers at the expense of other similar kind of customers. However, banks may decide to differentiate customers on account of the nature of products customers purchase or subscribe to. In this case, some customers may benefit from certain privileges which are features of specific products or services.
•Right to free monthly statement of account
The provision of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges is that banks are required to provide their customers free statement of account on a monthly basis. This means that you have a right to get your monthly statement of account from your bank at no cost. It should be noted, however, that the Guide provides that any special request attracts a fee of N20 per page (revised downwards from N50 per page).