If you have had a current bank account in Nigeria, then you may at one time or the other been faced with heavy excessive charges from your bank. Most Commercial Banks in Nigeria are fond of charging their customers fictitious and excessive charges which are often goes unnoticed by depositors.
The situation even gets worse if you are a customer who secured a loan from the bank. The charges are excessive and unnecessarily punitive. Sometimes borrowers even pay more than what they owe the banks yet the banks send them a letter of indebtedness. Unbeknownst to a lot of depositors, the Central Bank has issued several guidelines detailing what banks can charge you at any particular time and for what.
To address this situation, the CBN on Friday issued a press release confirming that it “has received series of complaints from customers of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) alleging excessive and in some cases illegal charges from their respective banks.” The CBN also confirms that it has investigated over 6000 complaints relating to unauthorized bank charges brought to its notice, following which banks have been compelled to refund the sum of over N6.2 billion to affected customers in 2015 alone.
If you are interested in getting heard and getting a refund as well the CBN says you should report cases of infringement to enable it investigate and apply sanctions on any erring Deposit Money Bank (DMB).
You are also requested to forward complaints to: Director, Consumer Protection Department; email: cpd@cbn.gov.ng
The Banking industry is one of the most regulated industries in Nigeria and the CBN has been known to enforce its rules and apply sanction where applicable. You have got nothing to lose.
