K-Bank Customer Service.....or lack of it

[Macclad]

About 6 years ago I got a credit card from the Kasikorn Bank which was linked to Air Asia.

The credit limit was for 100k baht per month and was tied to a fixed rate account which had 100k baht of my money in it.

Basically,when I used the card I paid back the balance outstanding each month so as not to incur interest.

A while ago I got a registered letter from K-Bank saying the agreement they had with Air Asia was coming to an end so I would have to apply for a new card with them.

I thought about this but decided against it as i had a credit card with another bank and 100k baht was really too high a monthly limit for me,anyway.

I let the card with K-Bank/Air Asia expire and then went to the account branch to close the fixed rate account.

I have another savings account with the K-Bank,with instant access,so I gave them the option of either transferring the 100k baht into that account or giving me the money back in cash.

Customer Services at K-Bank tried the hard sell of me taking out a new credit card with them but I politely declined.The staff seemed pretty annoyed when I did this.

I filled out a form and gave them back the expired credit card which they destroyed.

I then expected I would have access,one way or another,to my 100k baht but,no.....they said they would have to check with the "relevant department" in Bangkok to check there was no money owing on the fixed account.

Surely,all they have to do is look on their computer and they can see nothing is owing and the balance is 100k baht ??

But there was no way they were going to give me immediate access to my money....transfer or otherwise....and they said they would phone me when the funds are to be released.

Nearly a week has passed and nothing........I telephoned K-Bank Customer Services Helpline and the lady there said she had spoken to the supervisor of the account branch who said she had requested the release of my 100k baht from the "relevant department."

Has anyone else had a similar problem ? Just how long are you expected to wait for your money ?

In 30 years of dealing with the banks in the UK and 10 years of dealing with two other banks in Thailand I've never had this sort of problem and things have run pretty smoothly.

I always thought K-Bank was reputable......it would be bad enough if it was just a few thousand baht tied up but a 100k baht is a decent sized wadge.

[Sviss Geez]

They simply want to ensure that there are no outstanding purchases on the credit card that would not be covered if the funds in the security account were released. When they are happy that no more charged items will come in they will let you have the money that secures the card. A perfectly reasonable procedure.

[Macclad]

I take your point but the credit card link with Air Asia finished on 30th June,so the card could no longer be used.

The outstanding balance was paid off in early July......its now 2 months down the line......surely they can see there is nothing owing by now ?

I've checked myself by phone with Customer Services in Bangkok and the amount owing on the credit card is zero and the balance on the fixed account is 100k baht,as you would expect.

I cant understand why they wont transfer the amount in the fixed account to my savings account by now.....thats the problem.

[Heng]

K-Bank is the 'best' customer service wise locally. But yeah, there are plenty of 'little' instances like this that is the reason why I keep 80% of my funds offshore (from Thailand). K-Bank online banking offers three 'choices' for international transfers for personal accounts: education related, remittance (as a foreigner, which I am not), and remittance as a Thai who is a permanent resident abroad (this doesn't work for those of us who bank offshore in countries we don't live in). There are hundreds of reasons but they for some reason decided to narrow it down to three or you can't even apply for the transfer service. Compare to Bangkok Bank (which is a dinosaur in its own right), which at least allows international transfers for 'personal expenses.'

Compare again to say DBS, UOB, or OCBC in Singapore, where you can wire funds online to any corner of the world within the same day of opening your account. Their one time password system even works on Thai cell phones.