and as of now we have five accounts: four EON cards and one joint Fastbook account.
Don't get me wrong.
I like using Unionbank. I had no problems with them in the past, and they are usually very accommodating. Their staff is usually excellent, and their customer support is great and just one call away.
We have no problem with the EON cards they work great.
The problem: The problem we had was with the joint account.
When we opened the joint account, several years ago we were informed that the minimum maintaining balance would be 15,000. That was fine, we kept our funds higher than that.
However, they changed it recently to 25,000.
The only problem was, in the branch that we frequented in, THEIR STAFF DIDN’T INFORM US.
And they failed to put the information WHERE PEOPLE WOULD SEE THEM.
See this picture:
Here is a picture of that branch, notice that in the WHOLE BANK, there is ONLY ONE SPOT where you could read this information--and that spot is VERY FAR from the usual areas that people go to. It is too OUT OF THE WAY for people to see.
I went through their other notifications that they put throughout the bank, and took a picture of them. Guess what? None of it was about the 15000 to 25000 increase.
Here are the photos of the other notifications.
Notice there are two notifications there on the table.
Let’s take a closer look.
This one talks about interest rates
A total of 7000 were deducted from our joint account. OUCH.
The problem was, we weren't informed by their staff even though we went to that branch several times.
The deductions on the fastbook did not say what they were for, UNTIL WE ASKED.
We asked because in the last 4 months WE DID NOT TOUCH OUR FAST BOOK ACCOUNT and on the contrary, we kept depositing to it (we deoposited online from our Unionbank acocunts). But when we updated our fast book, it got deducted 4000.
Then we talked to the ones in charge. They said they would look into it, but several weeks later still no update.
Since the end of the month was already coming and they would deduct it again, we withdrew what was left and closed the account.
Unionbank staff and management of the said branch should:
1. Put the notice of change from 15000 to 25000 minimum balance WHERE IT IS VISIBLE--not somewhere where it is hardly even seen,
2. The notice of change as important as this should be on MULTIPLE SPOTS on the bank, not just one area (where people hardly go to)
3. Be trained to inform their account holders verbally, especially when the account holders are visiting their branch
4. Notify whenever there is a deduction (even if just through email or text?)
5. The fastbook label should have a note on it for what the deduction is for (rather than some garbled machine labels that no one understands)
Why fuss over 7000?
7000 may not be a big deal for some people, but that is our hard earned money.
It's on a joint account that we created as a couple, to fund our dreams.
We keep adding to it when we have extra funds.
-From the savings in that joint account, we were able to go to Camiguin and stay for two weeks. We had a great time there.
-From the savings in that joint account, we were able to go to Cebu and Bohol.
-From the savings in that joint account we were able to fund our Solar Power project
-From that joint account we were able to fund a Hydroponics Project for organic vegetables
Our next target is Palawan, Baguio, Manila, then outside the Philippines.
It's less about the money, but more about fair treatment, and more about what it represents--our dreams, our projects.
I like using Unionbank. I had no problems with them in the past before, and they are usually very accommodating. Their staff is usually excellent, and their customer support is great and just one call away.
I hope they resolve this problem quickly. I will keep you updated on the developments, but hopefully they will refund even a portion of that.
It's a simple mistake, and miscommunication/lack of communication that's easy to fix.
