Customer has accused Standard Chartered Nigeria of delaying refund after account closure.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a customer of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited has accused the lender of delaying the transfer of funds in his account following its closure as part of the bank’s alleged exit from personal banking.
Charles Igbinidu, a Nigerian resident in the United States, said the bank notified him by email that his account had been closed and advised him to contact its customer service team regarding any outstanding balance.
According to Igbinidu, he subsequently requested that the bank transfer the remaining funds to his account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), providing the necessary account details.
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In response, an email signed by Peter Okuyelu, a Client Experience Analyst at Standard Chartered, asked him to complete and return a form to facilitate the transfer.
The bank reportedly stated that the funds would be credited to his nominated account after receiving the completed documentation. It also explained that transfers could be made to commercial banks but not to fintech institutions.
Igbinidu said he returned the completed form alongside his UBA account details and a copy of the data page of his international passport.
However, he said he later received another email from Linda Ejiogu, also a Client Experience Analyst, asking him to request the closure of his US dollar account.
The message reportedly cited an outstanding debit balance of $20.49, representing an annual debit card fee.
Igbinidu disputed the charge, saying he had not held a debit card linked to the account for nearly a decade.
He said Ejiogu subsequently confirmed that the issue had been resolved.
According to him, he contacted the bank about a month later to enquire why the funds had not been transferred to his UBA account.
“Okuyelu replied that the request had been rejected because of an ‘irregular signature’ and asked me to sign the forms in line with the bank’s records and make my registered phone number available for confirmation,” he said.
The customer’s complaint raises questions about the process and timeline for returning customers’ balances following account closures.
Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria’s response to the specific allegations was not included in the account provided.
