Customer Accuses Standard Chartered Bank of Delaying Return of Account Balance

Oluchi Chibuzor

A customer of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited, has accused the bank of delaying the return of funds held in his account after the bank closed it as part of its alleged exit from personal banking.

Charles Igbinidu, a Nigerian resident in the United States, said the bank emailed him to confirm that his account had been closed and advised him to contact the bank with questions about any remaining balance.

Igbinidu said he asked the bank to transfer the balance to his account with United Bank for Africa (UBA) and supplied the account details.

In an email signed by Peter Okuyelu, a Client Experience Analyst, the bank asked Igbinidu to complete and return a form. The email said the funds would be credited to his nominated account after the bank received the completed documentation. It also stated that transfers could be made to commercial banks, but not to fintech institutions.

Igbinidu said he returned the completed form with his UBA account details and a copy of his passport’s data page.

“I later received a message from Linda Ejiogu, another Client Experience Analyst, asking me to request closure of my U.S. dollar account. The message cited an outstanding debit balance of $20.49 for an annual debit-card fee,” he said.

Igbinidu said he disputed the charge, saying he had not held a debit card linked to the account for nearly a decade. He said Ejiogu subsequently confirmed that the matter had been settled.

Igbinidu he contacted the bank about a month later to ask why the transfer had not been made. “Okuyelu replied that the request had been rejected because of an “irregular signature” and asked me to sign the forms in line with the bank’s records and make my registered phone number available for confirmation,” he said.