Muhammad Shahid is a self-employed foreign education consultant who maintains accounts with different banks. He uses credit cards for business transactions especially those he makes over Internet. The nature of his business requires use of these instruments, otherwise he never goes for private online transactions.

He has got rid of several of the credit cards he used to have after disputes with the issuing banks. On occasions, he says, he left cheques in the drop boxes placed by banks only to be told later on that they were not there. There were times when the cheques were traced but they had not been deposited in time resulting in imposition of late payment charges and fines.

In yet another case, Shahid kept on receiving renewed credit card after he had formally requested its cancellation so that he could pay the outstanding amount in instalments. Every time he received a card an additional amount was added to the amount that he wanted to settle. All this tormented Shahid too much and he finally decided to keep just one credit card. He had approached complaint settlement departments of different banks but every time there was more confusion.

Shahid’s ordeal speaks volumes for the plight of consumers who claim they are denied quality customer service by banks and made to move from pillar to post endlessly. They believe the banks are focusing more on marketing and less on serving the existing consumers and streamlining their existing systems. Long queues of people outside ATM kiosks and in banks are a common sight and one reason for this is that either the online systems are slow or totally dysfunctional. Many a time visiting customers are requested to return later when the system is restored.

The Banking Ombudsman is the relevant authority to hear different complaints of banking customers in case their complaints are not handled by the host banks properly. The institution issues an annual report on the complaints filed and handled during the corresponding year. It also categorises complaints and also includes the instructions passed on to different banks.

For example, the 2014 report says the complaints were mainly about consumer products, faulty ATMs, credit cards, frauds, payment of utility bills, handling of bank lockers, lost cheques, misleading advertising, breach of contract and so on. The report mentioned it was proved in some cases that the CCTVs installed with ATMs were out of function -- something which has to be ensured by banks to protect its customers.

Javed Mehmood, a resident of Karachi, says though it is difficult to make assessment about the banks meeting obligations towards consumers, the general trend is that banks are focusing more on marketing and very little on existing customers. For example, he says a foreign bank where he has an account has reduced to less than one fourth the strength of its staff deputed to handle consumers’ issues and diverted most of them to the marketing wing. He also complains that banks are frequently increasing charges on credit cards, cheques, ATMs and the central banks and the banking ombudsman are indifferent to this trend.

Javed says banks are given free hand when it comes to increasing different charges. He cites his own example and shares it with TNS that when he got a credit card of the said bank in 2003 there was no annual fee for it, but the bank first started charging Rs300 and then Rs500 as annual fee. This year, he says, he has paid Rs2,500 as annual fee.

A senior officer in a private bank affirms there are issues related to consumer satisfaction but attributes most of them to a lack of awareness among account holders. For example, he says, it is a fact that consumers raise hue and cry but hardly bother to lodge a complaint with a senior officer at the bank. He says some account holders reveal PIN codes, passwords etc to others and do not keep cheque books in safe custody which makes them vulnerable to fraud.

He, however, confesses the banks are sometimes not in a position to serve customers due to shortage of staff, resources and time. For this reason banks prefer to send periodical bank account reports via email than sending hard copies through courier service.

The officer agrees there are disputes over different charges and fees charged by banks. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has taken cognizance of this and asked banks to provide a fact sheet in the form of a Summary Box to their prospective customers with effect from September 01, 2014. The Summary Box should contain minimum information on effective interest rates, minimum monthly repayments, card limits, fees & charges, insurance coverage, etc. so that a consumer has an exact idea of the costs he would have to bear in case he subscribes to a service.

The SBP has also asked the banks to provide preferential treatment/out of queue assistance to all special persons who desire to conduct banking transaction or wish to avail other financial services offered by them. Besides, wherever possible, they are required to make arrangements to construct ramps at the entrance of existing branches and ATM cabins to allow easy access to special persons and wheelchair users and design the structure of newly installed ATM cabins in such a manner that suits the needs of special persons.

Syed Ibne-Hasan, head of Corporate Communication Division, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), says the bank receives very few complaints from consumers and takes no time to address them. Besides, he says, it is working on providing sustainable solutions to perennial issues such as dysfunctional ATMs. The bank is working on launching its own system which will get activated the moment the third party ATM network is down and provide a backup to NBP customers, he adds.

Another issue that haunts customers is the reluctance of banks staff to collect utility bills etc when there are network and system problems. They are hardly aware of the fact that under a Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) directive all bank branches were advised to invariably collect utility bills from general public, if approached, during the banking hours. In case of network/system problem, the concerned branch can make manual arrangements to collect utility bills from the public which shall be processed through the system later on.

Waseem Hashmi, Manager Coordination and Outreach at Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), calls for measures to weaken cartels which join hands and fleece ignorant consumers. He says it is a common practice that consumers are asked to sign lengthy and complicated contracts at the time of subscribing to different services. They come to know about complications once they land in trouble and have no idea of who to access for redressal, he concludes.