May 02, 2001 05:12 PM
3104 Views
I was elated to have opened an account with ICICI bank for three reasons. Firstly I am a shareholder of its parent, ICICI. Secondly, I could trade stocks online. Thirdly, I could shop / pay bills online. But my joy was short lived.
In fact, to be very candid, banking with them has been a nightmare for me.
It took me more than 6 months to get my icicidirect login and password despite several reminders. It took another two months to activate my account.
I have never been able to use their infinity account services as their system is down every time I try.
I sent shares of Essar Shipping for demat through ICICI bank. But, these people sent it to Essar Steel for the needful. As expected, the demat attempt failed. Now, their system shows that no such demat request is pending even though my physical shares also have not been returned to me. I have been running pillar to post for the last 3 months trying to trace my shares without success. Their people are extremely curt and rude.
My company had asked their Delhi office people to send their representative to meet our finance team to discuss regarding opening of corporate payroll accounts for employees. But, in the last 5 months no one has turned up.
I had visited their Nungambakkam branch in Chennai once to deposit a cheque and some cash. I had to stand in a queue for 45 minutes to wait for my turn as they had only one counter working. Ever since, I have stopped transacting with them.
I would strongly advise against falling for a big name and the swadeshi spirit if one values time and peace of mind.
