Jan 20, 2010 11:03 PM
13996 Views
(Updated Apr 07, 2011 08:23 AM)
My name is J. RAVI. I am a pensioner, aged 55 years. I have Priority account with Axis Bank, Basaveswara Nagar, Bangalore. Apart from me, my four children have Priority accounts with Axis Bank in the same branch making the total to five Priority accounts.
Till now, I do not have a credit card [CC] as I have been managing with my Axis Bank international debit card comfortalby.
However, recently, I found that for some transactions, CC is the only mode of payment. For example, I tried to open an account with PayPal so that I can pay for my purchases in ebay.com using PayPal. But, PayPal does not accept my Axis Bank international debit card and wants only CC linked to my account. On that day only, the wisdom dawned on me to go in for a CC at least now.
Having decided to go in for a CC, I started researching comparing CC of various banks and of various precious metals starting from silver, gold to platinum. My requirement was simple: it should be lifetime free CC with highest safety features. Finally, I zeroed in on Axis Bank Platinum CC. The Platinum CC is free of joining and annual fees effective from 1 January 2010.
I contacted Axis Bank customer support regarding the eligibility criteria as nowhere in their website they were detailed. I was told that my minimum annual income for the last financial year should be Rs 5 lakh. Yes, pensioner can also apply subject to the condition that income limit is satisfied. Here, I wish to inform that Axis Bank has clearly explained the eligibility criteria for all other CC in their website except for Platinum CC, thus compelling me to contact their customer service desk at Mumbai. They do not have toll-free number to contact. Thus, they can play around with the applicants at their whims and fancies.
Then, myself and my friend, who is in service, discussed in detail and applied for Platinum CC. My income includes pension, rental income, interest on securities and dividend from shares. My total income for the financial year 2008-09 was Rs 5.90 lakh.
The Axis Bank personnel came home on 5 Jan 2010, assisted me in filling up the application form, collected all the documents including last years ITR/acknowledgement, my pension order, pension pass-book extracts, pension pay-slips, transaction details of my account in State Bank of India where my pension is being credited for the last two months [earlier, my pension was credited in Axis Bank], etc.
In my application form, I opted for auto-debit facility from my Axis Bank account, as I do not want to face any credit-associated problems later.
He gave me an acknowledgement. But even after 15 days, there was no communication from Axis Bank, whereas, the verification process started in case of my friend. Then, yesterday [19 Jan 2010], I called the concerned Axis Bank personnel and enquired about the status of my application.
Today morning, he called and informed me that I will not be getting the Platinum CC, but instead getting Gold CC. When I asked for the reason, he pleaded ignorance and said that even though they recommended the Mumbai office rejected their recommendation and offered Gold CC only. I refused to accept Gold CC and asked him to return my documents.
I do not comprehend-
Why Axis Bank has denied issuing Platinum CC for a Priority account holder, whose annual income exceeded the minimum limit prescribed?
Is it because I am a pensioner?
Later, I contacted other banks like HDFC, where the same story repeated with different scripts. Finally, I came to the conclusion that Axis Bank is better than other banks. So, I settled for Axis Bank Gold CC as I didn't have other better alternative. Perhaps, after seeing my transactions and payment history, this February 2011, Axis Bank offered me free upgradation to Platinum CC without any charges, which I accepted.
Now, I am a happy and satisfied user of Axis Bank Platinum CC. So, ultimately, a tragedy turned into a comedy!
