A number of HSBC customers in the UAE have been struck by excess charges on their Visa cards following a computer system issue that took hold last week.
Some customers have been charged three to four times the amount due to the bank.
The bank said a technical issue resulted in the overcharging on a number of transactions that happened on December 2.
It has since assured customers that they will be protected against any potential losses from these transactions.
Angry customers took to the social media to express their concern over the issue.
Is it normal for @HSBC_UAE to take all their customers money?! .. What kind of technical difficulty is this?!
— Tanya (@TaniyaIslam) December 8, 2017
HSBC responded with a statement on Facebook, which read: “We have identified an issue related to some transactions made on the 2nd of Dec on HSBC Visa cards. We are in the process of rectifying the issue and we want to assure our affected customers that we will reverse any incorrect amounts, fees and charges that resulted from this issue. We regret any inconvenience caused.”
Kunal Malani, regional head of customer for value management at HSBC, said the bank wants its customers to be sure that any customer related fee and charges will be reversed out and they will be able to continue to use HSBC Visa debit and credit cards as they normally do.
“We have arranged to reverse the incorrectly billed amounts over the weekend and are in the process of reversing any related fees and charges in due course,” the bank said in a reply to a customer’s tweet.
This latest technical glitch comes after the bank released its ‘Trust in Technology’ report last week, which surveyed over 12,000 people in 11 countries into global technology perceptions and habits.
