Dear Claudienne,

I am writing to you from Trinidad and Tobago as I am seeking to have a very protracted and urgent matter addressed. I placed two sums of money on fixed deposits in the Mandeville branch of NCB.

When I travelled home to bury my father, I went to the Mandeville NCB branch on Friday, October 11, 2019, to get my money. I was told by the CSR agent who gave her name as MM that she could not find any information on my deposits. I was promised that a search would be made and that I would be contacted as the person who could do the search was not at work that day. I had travelled from Westmoreland and had waited in line for a protracted period, so not seeing another option, I left the bank expecting a “reputable” institution to keep their word. After all, I had grown up hearing the slogan “NCB, taking care of business. NCB, taking care of you.” I had expected them to take care of me.

Since I was leaving the island on the Sunday, and still believing there were people who kept their word, I accepted their promise. I am, however, still to obtain a follow-up on the issue.

On October 21, 2019, I wrote to the general manager of the Mandeville branch and am still to receive a response.

Help from the governor of the Bank of Jamaica was also sought based on the role published on the bank’s website. I am still awaiting a response.

On September 22, 2020, I also sought help from the minister of finance based on the role published on the ministry’s website. I am still awaiting a response.

I am kindly requesting that you use your good offices to assist me please.

Any help you give will be greatly appreciated please.

HS

Dear HS,

Tell Claudienne

contacted NCB on March 7, 2023 about your concerns and received the following e-mail:

“Thank you for advising us of this situation. We have made contact with our customers about it.”

NCB does not disclose confidential information about clients’ accounts to a third party. However, you have forwarded the two e-mail that you have received from NCB to Tell Claudienne.

The first e-mail you received stated the following:

“We refer to your letter as at January 30, 2023 sent to the Tell Claudienne Jamaica Observer column. We note you have outlined a list of several correspondence and touch points with us, but we were unable to trace receipt of any of the letters outlined by you. In any event, we regret any delays in providing you with a response in relation to your queries. We now advise that our records show that the fixed deposit account numbered 5****1 was closed on December 24, 1998.”

The second e-mail NCB sent you:

Re: Complaint – Alleged Breach of Code in Resolving Complaint re Inability to Redeem Fixed Deposits (Account #s 5****9 & 5****1) stated the following:

“We refer to the captioned matter and our letter to you dated April 20, 2023 which was sent to you via e-mail on May 1, 2023. We have enclosed a copy of that letter for your ease of reference.

As previously stated in our April 20, 2023 letter, we wish to confirm that Fixed Deposit account numbered 5****1 in the sum of US$5,964.96 was redeemed early and the account closed on December 24, 1998. Additionally, no account numbered 5****9 was located in our system.

We have no further information in relation to this matter as all records from accounts which would have been closed from as far back as 1998 would have been destroyed as per record retention periods under law.

We trust this information will prove helpful. “

We wish you all the best

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 876-936-9436 or Cell# 876-484-1349 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-421/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail:edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.