May 18, 2001 01:22 AM
4726 Views
In 1998 I opened an account with ICICI bank in Bombay. Before that I was with State Bank of India, but my father was sick of dealing with inefficient people there. Well actually my father rarely went into the branch itself, our accountant did. When I turned 18 and I wanted my own account, my father was like no you should open with a reliable bank with modern looks and courteous staff. Ok. I can never refuse him.
He sent me to ICICI, whose branch manager was my father's friend. Nice bank. They had just finished the interiors and all. Wow, an ATM for a change, in an Indian bank!
I enjoyed every moment of it and I banked myself, not my accountant.
After that I came to the US. Last year in summer I asked them to change my mailing address to my US address. They said no, they cant change because I am not an NRI. So I told them that I am a student in the US which makes me an NRI. They made me open a new NRI account, with a US address. I closed my regular account.
In the US, they often delivered mails too late. I wrote to them couple of times about the problem. They said they will improve. I was irritated. They sent me my ATM card. Never sent me the PIN #
So I told them to change my address to my Indian address atleast my mom and dad will receive my bank statements. I could do online banking. ICICI was good for money transfer and all so I was sticking with them.
I visited my India branch in December last year. Oh my, it is so crowded. Staff is confused. There is no place to breathe. Gone is the professional and personal touch. They are becoming like a government PSU bank. They better improve. Their online banking is of virtually no use. Their ATMs are often down.
Overall my advice is to stay away from ICICI unless they can manage to cope with their customer growth phenomenon!
