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Customer Service: Bank’s Refund Over N 5 billion in less than a month – CBN

By on June 25, 2012

Following the creation of the Consumer Protection Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, billions of Naira has been refunded to bank customers based on several thousands of complaints regarding the services rendered by the banks.

The department which was created on April 2nd received approximately 3,645 complaints by April 30th and was able to address 3,571 of those complaints.

Total claims of N 8.59 billion were made against the deposit money banks within the specified period, of which N 5.03 billion and $ 201,375 was refunded to customers.

The CBN’s goal is to create customer help desk’s in all its branches nationwide.

The aim of the department is  to ensure that consumers receive appropriate protection with the CBN acting as the consumer’s advocate, setting standards of customer service for the industry and ensuring that customers are treated fairly in all their dealings with the industry.

According to a senior official of the department, Mr. Ifeanyi Nwoha, the goal is to enhance consumer protection.

He said, “Hitherto, some consumer protection responsibilities were carried out by the Banking Supervision Department. The Bankers’ Committee also created the Sub-Committee on Ethics and Professionalism which was saddled with the responsibility of addressing disputes between consumers and providers of financial services. Additionally, the banks also received customer complaints which they were expected to resolve appropriately.

“It was observed, however, that these structures, aside their inability to properly address the avalanche of complaints from the consumers did not focus on other important aspects of consumer protection, such as consumer education, consumer complaint-index and policy formulation.”

The CBN is soon to go digital with its Consumer Protection Unit.

Nwoha said, “A Consumer Complaint web-enabled portal for financial consumers of banks and other Financial Institutions to submit petitions/complaints to the CBN on-line.

“The system would also provide an interface for banks and other financial institutions to make periodic returns to the CBN for its record and possible intervention. For example the CBN (through CFPD) and CPC had just released the 2nd Edition of  Guide to Basic Banking Transactions to educate the current and potential banking public. ”