Normal service will not be resumed ........ because it hasn't even started here.
All three letters in today's Jakarta Post, not online, have legitimate grouses about appalling lack of service.
One details how
Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) have decided that every customer must have an ATM card, thus giving them the excuse to charge an additional 140% in administration charges. This is, of course, a bit steep for all those youngsters ~ in the case of the correspondent, his two year old ~ and remote villagers who do not have access to a BNI ATM
Enough is enough. In a free society no company can force us to buy a product we do not want, do not need and cannot even use.It could be that BNI are trying to recapitalise following the massive frauds at the bank.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)
said yesterday it pinpointed 97 cases of suspected irregularities in credit management and procurement projects at Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) between 2003 and 2004, with potential losses of at least Rp 1.1 trillion (US$110 million).BNI president Sigit Pramono termed the report about the state-owned lender "a misunderstanding". Presumably the
arrest of the top policeman involved in the investigation, on corruption charges naturally, is also a misunderstanding.
Another correspondent details how she signed up for a Citibank credit card. On Dec 23rd, Citibank called her (again) asking for a minimum payment but, as she said, how could she be expected to pay if she had no card or bill.
She has still not received the card but
since Dec 24th Citibank debt collectors have been contacting (her)
at least three times a day. On Jan 2nd she called Citibank who said that t
hey had already sent the card, but as (she)
was not at home it had been destroyed..Another reason given was that Citibank had the wrong address, even though they had a copy of her ID card and two phone numbers.
She signs off:
This is my first and last experience with Citibank.The final letter offers insights into the complete lack of service at QB Books Plaza Semanggi compared with a branch in Jl. Sunda. It involves a recent
offer of discounts of varying amounts on books purchased.
There are no conditions on the flyers or posters announcing the offer. When I thanked the staff at QB Books Plaza Semanggi when they returned my credit card, I didn't even get a smile in return.This seems to be a mite pernickety compared to the other complaints.
And mine.
I have an email account with
Indosat, which is so profitable that the Indonesian
government want to buy back shares they sold a few years back shortly after the IMF came to the rescue of this bankrupt country.
Indosat profits do not come from their email service which cannot guarantee a stable connection or to cut out the spam. No, their profits come from their cellular phone business, including a newish service called Matrix.
At the Indosat HQ there is a cashier for cell phone customers while we luddites who have not got a handphone, do not want a handphone and, even if I did, would not want an Indosat account, have to pay at a Bank Mandiri branch next door in order to rejoin the original queue.
So, how come I keep getting bills for phone calls I have not made on a phone I have not got? It doesn't bother me that the total is now way over Rp.500,000 because I won't pay it. However, I did, eventually, get through to the 24 hour customer service department to inform them of their cock up. After nigh on thirty minutes of explaining the situation, I got an agreement that they would sort things out and ring me back.
This was just before Xmas and I'm still awaiting their call. Meantimes, a courier has delivered yet another bill. This one I refused to accept. I scrawled, in my best bahasa, words to the effect that Indosat are a bunch of incompetent w**kers I wouldn't trust with running a coffee stall and if they couldn't get their act together I would write about their attempts at extortion in my blog.
This I have now done.
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