The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks to refund over N17bn illegally charged customers as of August 2014.
This directive was disclosed by the Head, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, Hajia Khadijah Kassim, in Calabar, Cross River State on Monday.
“Once we receive a complaint; if it is a case of fraud, we move in immediately. As of August 2014; from 5,500 complaints, we have got the banks to refund over N17bn to customers.
“We are not allowing the banks to have a field day as far as treating customers fairly is concerned,” she stated.
Responding to a question on bank frauds at a press briefing to mark the commencement of the Financial Literacy and Consumer Awareness Campaign in Calabar, Kassim said as soon as the central bank received complaints of fraud, it usually wasted no time in addressing them.
“We ensure that banks treat their customers fairly,” she said.
According to her, customers have a right to complain, and advised that they always pay attention to their bank statements.
She urged the customers to question any debit to their account they did not understand and report to the concerned banks.
Kassim said the banks had a 30-day period to resolve such issues or else they would be referred to the CBN, which would ensure that the issues were resolved fairly to the customers.
According to her, who represented the Director, CPD, Mr. U. A. Dutse, said the CBN was putting structures in place to ensure that consumers got maximum benefits from financial services provisioning in order to enable them take charge of their financial wellbeing and enhance economic development.
Kassim said the purpose of the week-long programme was to interact and to sensitise the state’s residents on financial literacy and consumer protection issues.
