Sep 03, 2001 10:24 AM
13065 Views
Dear Friends,
I am reproducing below certain relevant parts of a letter I have today written to CITIBANK. Read it and if you feel strongly about it, write in to CITIBANK and stop this con game being played by them.
Here goes:
''
MR. ATUL MALIK
MARKETING DIRECTOR-CARDS
CITIBANK
6TH FLOOR, SAKTHI TOWERS
766, ANNA SALAI
CHENNAI – 600 002
Dear Mr. Malik,
It is true that the “CITI NEVER SLEEPS”. You guys are perpetually busy trying to foist some scheme or the other on innocent relationships whereby you enrich yourselves by any means, ethical or otherwise, with more efforts apparently towards the latter.
I am the unfortunate holder of a Citicard. One of my friends alerted me about a scheme you folks have recently concocted. Immediately, on 1st September, I receive my monthly account statement. No surprises yet. But, along with the statement there is a flyer, which is like one of the usual junk mails about some thing to do with insurance. Normally, one confines these to the dustbin. But my curiosity having been whipped up by my friend’s email, I took the effort to go through it.
Amazing! Your brazenness is astounding!! By now, if you have not got the drift, I am referring to the brochure titled “Citibank Suraksha “ _ The twin benefit insurance plan.
Firstly, you tell me that I have been covered by some scheme offered in conjunction with two unknown insurance companies about accident insurance and something else. You tell me NOW, that I have been covered by this “scheme” since June and that the trial period expires on August 31st, 2001!! I get this communication on September 1st, 2001, which is very conveniently a Saturday. I ponder over it and speak to someone at your 24-hour number, and the polite lady tells me that I cannot speak to anyone “responsible” till Monday. So much for the Citi that never sleeps!
The scheme is amazing. You tell me through this undated brochure that if I do not come back to you guys, you will PRESUME THAT I NEED THIS SCHEME AND YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY DEBIT MY ACCOUNT EVERYMONTH. EVEN THE AMOUNT IS NOT CLEAR AND THE ONLY THING I COULD MAKE OUT WAS THAT IT INVOLVES A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF RS.14.70 PER MONTH PLUS AN “ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE” OF RS.15.00 PER MONTH. IN ADDITION, THERE IS A VARIABLE CHARGE FOR WHICH I NEED TO BE A WIZARD AT MATH TO CALCULATE!!
WONDERFUL. If you guys have a million cardholders, and most of them ignore this flyer (like people do to most junk mails), you guys end up making a cool Rs.15 MILLION BUCKS A MONTH IN ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY MAKES MUCH MORE!! NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT THE TWIN BENEFIT HEADER. ONE IS YOU AND THE OTHER IS OBVIOUSLY THE INSURANCE COMPANY!! IF I DO NOT USE MY CARD AT ALL FOR A MONTH, THEN I END UP PAYING “ ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES” WHICH ARE MORE THAN THE CHARGE FOR THE BASIC SERVICE!! HOW WONDERFUL!!
BY LAW, ANY AMOUNT YOU WANT TO CLAIM FROM ME, IT IS LOGICAL TO PRESUME THAT YOU WOULD NEED MY WRITTEN CONSENT. IN THIS INSTANCE, YOU CANNOT CHARGE ME BY NEGATIVE INFERENCE. ACTS LIKE THESE MAKE A MOCKERY OF THE WORD “TRUST” WHICH IS INTEGRAL TO ALL FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP.
FURTHER, YOU PRESUME THAT I NEED THIS BLOODY INSURANCE. I HAVE ALL THE INSURANCE IN THE WORLD THAT I NEED. EVEN IF I DO NOT, IT IS A MATTER OF PERSONAL CHOICE. WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE OR SUGGEST THAT I NEED INSURANCE? ARE YOU A LICENSED INSURANCE SELLER? IN THAT CASE, YOU SHOULD HAVE PROPERLY MARKETED THE SCHEME TO ME.
YOU GUYS HAVE, BY THIS ACT, DEMONSTRATED YOUR TOTAL LACK OF ETHICS. IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE MY MONEY, DO IT WITH MY CONSENT. AND, I MEAN, WRITTEN CONSENT. WE DO NOT ASK FOR FEATURES, WHICH YOU THINK, ARE ATTRACTIVE TO ME. I HAVE MY OWN PREFERENCES. AND BE CAREFUL ABOUT APPROPRIATING MY MONEYS. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I WROTE TO EVERY CITIBANK EMPLOYEE, IN FINE PRINT, SAYING THAT IN CASE I DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU, ALL YOUR BANK BALANCES BELONG TO ME?? THIS IS PRECISELY THE KIND OF ACT YOU HAVE INDULGED IN.
IT IS ALSO SHOCKING TO SEE THAT NAMES SUCH AS SUNDARAM AND TATAS HAVE LET THEIR NAMES BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH SLEAZY SCHEMES. MAYBE, THEY HAVE LEGALLY SOLD THE SCHEMES TO YOU AND WOULD CLAIM LEGAL IMMUNITY, BUT THEY ARE EQUALLY GUILTY ABOUT SLIPPING IN THEIR PRODUCTS THROUGH THE BACK DOOR TO INNOCENTS.
I WONDER WHETHER YOU WOULD CARE TO REPLY.
IN ANY CASE, MY CARD NUMBER IS xxxxxxxxxxxx. MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT DEBIT MY CARD WITH ANY SUCH UNAUTHORISED SCHEMES. I HAVE PAID FOR YOUR PRODUCT FOR ITS FEATURES OF A CREDIT CARD AND NOTHING MORE. IF I WANT INSURANCE, I KNOW WHERE TO GO.
Yours truly,
