Why, BPI, why?
Dear Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI),
Here are two of your clients with two separate concerns.
One tried to withdraw cash in your ATM, got nothing because the machine did not dispense any but is still waiting, after two long weeks, for the amount to be credited back to the account.
The other allegedly got victimized by one of your very own bank managers. The client was expecting a remittance from another country, was told there were delays because of numerous problems, but discovered that the branch manager himself apparently took the money. Now, after four long months, the money has not yet been returned.
Pray, tell, BPI, why does it take you a long time to act on the following complaints?
Case #1: The ATM machine that did not dispense cash
Around two weeks ago, PinoyMoneyTalk.com Forum member restless apparently tried to withdraw P20,000 (US$440) in a BPI ATM but received no cash. The card was ejected but the machine did not dispense any bills. Although the transaction receipt clearly confirmed, "No bills dispensed," the account was debited P20,000.
restless contacted BPI's Support Hotline and the agent on the other line filed a report. A week later, to his surprise and disappointment, he was told the case had been investigated but the transaction cannot be found. He decided to visit a BPI branch, armed with supporting documents, to file another report. As of this writing, however, no positive response has been received.
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Read more about this case in the "BPI ATM did not dispense cash; money still not returned" discussion thread.
Case #2: The bank manager who allegedly stole a client's remittance
A post from another forum which we reposted in the "Remittance money allegedly stolen by BPI branch manager" thread tells the story of a remittance recipient who has not received the money despite waiting for four months.
The client was expecting a P300,000 (US$6,600) remittance from his mother in Italy. For several weeks, the branch office manager told him the money has not yet arrived supposedly due to various reasons. Annoyed by the two months delay, he decided to file a report in BPI's Customer Hotline. The ensuing investigation allegedly discovered that the bank manager himself took the money. As a result, the manager was not fired but merely suspended for one month without pay.
However, after two more months, the client has still not seen his money.
Tell us, BPI, is this really the brand of service the third largest bank in the Philippines offers? Why should your clients suffer for problems that were not of their own doing? Why should they wait weeks or months before you solve their complaints?
Your clients want to know, BPI. Don't ask why.
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May 1st, 2008 at 6:42 am
ngyari na din sakin yan, im just a small earner with a family.500 pesos is a big deal to me, un nalang natitira sa atm ko gamit para sa salary ko. tapos nun wala akong pamasahe pauwi, naisip kong magwithraw, nakailang minuto ako naghintay taz lumabas ung card pero pera hindi. nanlumo ako.no choice naglakad ako pauwi from paranaque to las pinas. it was hard earned money 500 na nga lang nawala pa??????? bakit??????
November 27th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Im also a victim. i withdraw at BPI ATM market market small amount nga lng d sya nagdespense ng pero ng nagcomplain me they said na despense daw un money but with honesty wala talaga nadespense. kaya after a week close ko na acct ko
November 10th, 2007 at 12:51 am
I’m losing my trust with BPI. What kind of investigating team (or whatever they call themselves) BPI has. They are so slow to act on complaints like the one I filed. I was trying to withdraw 10,000.oo but I did not get anything from the machine, much worse is that it was debited to my account. I called the hotline told me to wait for the result of the investigation. Days passed by, everytime I call Customer Service Hotline, I get the same answer. I think we, clients have weak proofs for these cases because all we have is just a piece of paper which they call transaction slip. They can easily say that there was not found any problem or it’s not that I’m just telling false accusations, and poor me, will suffer the consequences for their mistakes. I was hoping that there are surveillance cameras on their ATM, but to my disgust, BPI DOESN”T HAVE CAMERAS ON THEIR ATM, i was told by a branch manager. I was hoping they have it so I can prove that I went home empty handed. I am not rich. 10,000 is a big deal to me, it was hard earned money. I’ll give them 1 more week, and I swear, I’ll pull out all my money and open an account to other bank.
October 31st, 2007 at 3:47 pm
amerah, your boyfriend’s stance on the issue is understandable. If he wants to remain silent about it, then we respect that.
But I think people, especially those using BPI’s Remittance Service, ought to know that these instances do happen, and that is the reason we posted this article. We hope that by bringing this issue to light, others who had similar experiences will know what to do.
Still, I personally find it annoying that it took BPI 4 months to return the money to your boyfriend. Was he paid interest on top of the principal? At 1% interest p.a., that P300,000 would have earned P1,000. More if it was placed in a time deposit or a mutual fund.
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:33 pm
my bf doesn’t doesn’t want to sue the manager because he said that the manager is an old man and what he just want is to give his money back. and bpi told him not to sue them and tell anybody what happened
October 21st, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Wow…amazing BPI !!! Is this real or not. I have been banking with BPI for more than a decade now and so far this never happened to me. I even at one point disputed with BPI a penalty of P2000.00 charged to me for a cheque presented to them twice (the same cheque) with first no funds and again with stop payment. I told them the second charge is not reasonable knowing that the cheque has a stop payment and when presented the account holder should not be charged for penalty as when the first time the same cheque was presented without funds. Luckily, I was able to get the P2000.00 and credited to my account. ATM withdrawal has a daily limit. I think maximum you can withdraw for a single day is P10,000.00 or if P20,000 is allowed you cannot do it in single transaction due to the amount being disposed may not fit in the disposal window or it could happen that the cash available inside the machine may not be enough to cover your withdrawal of P20,000.00. You have to do it in batches.
By the way, you could have filed a case against the branch in that case and you could have been compensated for the trouble they have caused you. What you could have done is discretely gathered the necessary information and proofs that indeed the branch manager has stolen the money from your account and then once you have all the papers and evidence, you could have hired a lawyer and present the case. It is just right that we as customers have the power to be compensated by these banks when they made mistake as when it happened to us they are so quick to penalized us….it is just right to turn the table to the other side sometimes.
October 20th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Regarding case #2, my bf is the once whose involve here, his card had been broken so he went to his branch which is in UN and then bpi tol him to go back after 3 working days to get his new card, after 3 days he went back an got the card an when he checked it, his balance is zero, so he went back again to the bank and the employee there said that he should talk to the banch manager which he id, the manager said that there had been a problem in encoding, that he should check his acount after 3 working days, so he id an still his balance is zero, so he went back again and the manager sai that they can’t trace the money that his mom snt, that he should call his mom an faxed the deposit slip, the following day his mom faxed it,and again the manager said to wait for 3 working days,after 3 days again, nothing has change, my bf keep on calling the bank and they always said that the main branch is fixing the problem, or the manager was at a meeting in the main branch regarding his problem but after 2 months of waiting my bf finally called their customer service and they said that there’s no report regarding his case coming from UN branch, so the main branch conucted an investigation and found out that the manager in UN branch use the money (Php300,000) because he has a problem at home, the manager in UN branch amitted that he did used the money. He was just suspened for 1 month without pay and he said sorry t my BF, that’s it,they said after 3 working ays it will be fixe but after 3 weeks of waiting, it’s not yet fixe because what the main branch sai that they’re just waiting for the VP to sign the paper because they need his signature because it’s the bank’s money that there going to used, and they said to my bf not to tell anyone or report this to anyone, just between him and the bank. after 4 months of long waiting, my bf receive a check coming from BPI’s main branch with the said amount (Php300,000)
October 19th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
hmmm…i’ve been a BPI user for the last 20 years. bata pa lang ako, may account na ako sa kanila. =)
i have experienced na hindi naglabas ng pera yung BPI ATM kasi makapal na masyado yung pera. i think i attempted to withdraw 10k in just one transaction. may 100s yata kaya kumapal.
i also experienced when i withdrew my salary and then nakalimutan kong kunin agad yung money from the slot (nakikipagkuwentuhan while nagwiwithdraw). may time limit pala yung money sa slot kaya kinain yung pera ko.
in both cases, i was able to get the credit in just one day. i just called BPI hotline and gave them the necessary details (transaction #, account details #). i didn’t have to follow up pa.
even sa emails ko, i always get an answer within 24-48 hours.
October 17th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Welcome to the Philippines, web entrepreneur! Hehehe…
October 17th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I thought only gov’t officials can get away with corruption.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Nick, sad to hear that. I’ve been using BPI Remittance for more than 2 years now and, fortunately, for me I’ve not experienced any problems. Hope your issue with them gets sorted out. Let us in on any updates.
jc, exactly. I personally think the public, especially OFWs who course remittances through banks, deserves to know that these scumbags exist. They need to be warned so that they can take precautions and also know what to do should something like that happen. I also agree that that manager should not just be suspended. He/she should be jailed!
October 16th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Wow! Wait a sec. The word is “stolen” right? Taking money that is not your own… The manager was suspended? Shouldnt he/she be in jail right now? Taking money without permission, by any means, is punishable by law right? Not only should the manager be fired, he should also be banned from any bank he applies, or any financial institution after going into jail!
I mean come on, we (clients) are punished whenever we have delayed payments and bouncing checks that’s why we try very hard to protect our credit rating. That’s foul!
October 16th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Are you kidding me? Is this true? Anyway … here’s my story: http://mamutong.com/2007/10/16/bpi-remittance-department/
October 16th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Yup, that’s what we heard. That manager should have been fired. And the money should have already been returned. But after 4 months, still nothing. I’d be in rage if that happened to me.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:52 am
yikes, that’s scary!
and the manager only got suspended? what the hell!