STANDARD BANK Uninspired, Unmotivated, Uninvolved! The story of how Standard Bank treated me, a supposed valued client. Gideon Galloway Why this web site? I believe there are thousands of consumers being ripped off by banks or perhaps just getting poor service. Poor service is one thing, but when your bank costs you your hard earned money - then enough is simply enough. Especially if they simply don't care! Up until the launch of this site (March 2007), my complaints have fallen on deaf ears and the sad thing is that I have kept Standard Bank the loop every step of the way - yet nothing. So this is my story for the world to read! Since launching this site, I have received hundreds of email complaints from angry clients, I must say not just Standard Bank. The Story In August 2006 I started shopping around for a property. A bond value to the maximum of R2.6 Million was granted based on my financial situation then (email & fax evidence). Finally in December I found a property I liked. As in most cases, the offer to purchase was made subject to me being granted a bank loan for the amount over and above my cash investment, to be able to buy this property. Standard Bank went out and evaluated the property for only R2.5 Million. They declined the loan based on value (fax evidence). Like any sane person, I respected my bank's position and did not want to pursue this matter further. The estate agency then motivated for another evaluation and the bank then miraculously valued the property at the exact selling price of R3,025,000. I was very upset about this, but didn't make anything of it, because the loan was still declined. The amount was more than the maximum I qualified for at the time. According to the contract the estate agency could submit a bond application on my behalf. The way this was done is another shocking story. They basically submitted double my salary (Unfortunately this evidence is conveniently being withheld from me - can't find it). After a complaint they withdrew all applications. I started to look for a more affordable property knowing that the other deal was not going though. I mean, the bank declined it twice, based on value and then based on me not qualifying. Then suddenly a few days later I learned, to my surprise, that Standard Bank granted the loan. I asked how in the world this could be possible. Up until this day I could not get a response from my bank, nor the mortgage originator what details they submitted to obtain this grant. How was it possible for a third party to motivate with my bank my situation after they basically fraudulently made up information about my income? I submitted a complaint with Standard Bank that I believe their is someone in the home loan's department working together with the estate agency/bond originator. How was it possible for this to happen and in my telephonic conversations with the estate agency they made it clear from the start that they know people in Standard Bank and they will get this deal through (I could not obtain the voice recordings of this evidence). Looking back, they were right! I mean they were able to convince my bank that the property in now worth R500 000 more and they were able to motivate that I could actually borrow more. This all while I made it absolutely clear to Standard Bank that something fishy is going on and that based on Standard Banks previous two declines - I was not interested anymore. After submitting the complaint, I had to wait two weeks for a response while lawyers were sending me letters daily to proceed with the sale. Look at the politically correct response the bank sent me(fax evidence). In a nutshell they base the first evaluation error on a desktop evaluation and they actually admit that they motivated my loan amount upwards together with the agency. Absolutely out of this world and shocking. By this time I was breathing fire!!! Remember all this information was based on my financial situation in August 2006. Nobody from the bank confirmed my financial position at the time (8 months later). I sat down, now forced to buy the properly, and worked out what to do next. If I was going to be forced to buy this property, then at least let me go with a bank of my choice. I opened an Investec account and they were not willing to grant me this loan with the property valued at that price. So I did not qualify. I realized that there must be something fishy and I'm absolutely not buying this property and asked Standard Bank to look at their approval again. There must be something wrong with their rules?Standard Bank's response (Mr. Les Barrett) basically said that data is valid for 6 months and they will not look at my current financial situation at the time of the deal, they stand by their approval. They were also not willing to give me the information that the bond originator / estate agency submitted. (voice recording evidence at Standard Bank). Absolutely shocking, I mean, I'm forced into a R3 million transaction and my bank refuse to verify my current income nor give me details of what has been submitted. I later learned that according to the new Credit Bill this is reckless lending! They still stand by all their decisions. Now decided not to buy this property, I asked to withdrew the application myself. You won't believe what a mission this was. I had to asked numerous times for them to do this. Then they asked for an old tax return as well as my letter from my Attorney proving that I'm not going ahead. The cherry on the cake was that they asked in writing for me to pledge that I won't hold them responsible for any damages? What a joke! After a huge battle, they finally withdrew the application. The result of this was that I had to pay R133,380 in agency commissions. Apart from that there are also the attorney fees, this web site fees and stress my family had to go through. This all at a wonderful time my wonderful wife gave birth to our beautiful twin boys. I decided that this is wrong and I will not be a victim. How many other people has this happened to. I made a decision that I would embark on this web site and at least warn other potential customers of how Standard Bank conducts business. The Ombudsman ruled in Standard Bank's favor - believe it or not. I believe this was due to the lack of evidence (Standard bank conveniently did not or could not retrieve all supporting evidence I was referring to. The credit bill was also not in place). I'm not willing to go to court, they will just drag it out forever - its not worth the money. I received a couple of emails from angry clients explaining how the banks operate when going to court - an individual will find it almost impossible to win. If you are a Standard bank client, or thinking of becoming one - think twice. In my books, Standard Bank definitely does not live up to its slogan - Inspired, Motivated, Involved. Nothing like that - best they rethink the reality of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Gideon Galloway Gideon is a Standard Bank Private Banking client and was a big Standard Bank supporter. That was until they turned his world upside down and really went out of their way to provide poor service. "I believe there are thousands of consumers being ripped off by banks or perhaps just getting poor service... its time we voice our concerns. Its time for the banks to listen - especially Standard Bank!" Standard Bank's poor service highlights: Standard Bank conducts incorrect property evaluations. Standard Bank negotiated a personal financial situation with third parties. (Bond Originator) Standard Bank insist on working with old data, resulting in reckless lending. Bad customer feedback Bad attitude towards customers Tell Me About Your Story If you had a similar Standard Bank experience, please email me on gideon@thinktank.co.za Include evidence as attachments if available. hellopeter.com A search on hallopeter.com revealed that Standard Bank has over 1900 compliments and complaints. Sadly, the big majority are complaints! Say your say on hellopeter.com, its your right! The Ombudsman Can Help The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) resolves individual complaints about banking services and products. http://www.obssa.co.za