A resident of Vitebsk paid triple the price for a purchase via card
A resident of Vitebsk paid three times the price for goods due to a faulty bank terminal. The unpleasant incident occurred back in February.
— My husband and I bought two cans of primer and varnish from a well-known foreign company that day for apartment repairs. We had bought various items at that store before. And I had never had any complaints about the work of the store employees before, — says Olga Klimovich, an operator of electronic typesetting and layout.
She tried to pay for the purchase using a Belinvestbank card. She entered the PIN code, but received neither confirmation of the money transfer nor a receipt. The store employee said that the cash register tape had run out. He tried to replace it.
A second attempt to pay for the goods was unsuccessful. As a result, she paid in cash — 380 thousand 100 rubles. However, when I urgently needed to withdraw cash from my card, I noticed that 760,200 rubles were missing from my balance.
I immediately realized that this amount was the cost of two unsuccessful attempts to pay by card. I called the Belinvestbank contact center and waited a long time to connect with an operator. As a result, I learned that I needed to go to the nearest bank branch on Monday and write an application.
Next, the client faced significant problems:
— I think if the terminal in the store was serviced by Belinvestbank, perhaps the problem with the refund would have been resolved quickly. But as it is... On February 9, I wrote an application to Belinvestbank. And at the branch where it was accepted, they said that the document would be reviewed within 14 days. This did not happen. On February 25, I called the same branch and asked where to complain about the actions of the bank employees.
The woman was instantly transferred to an employee who politely explained everything. He emphasized that a request had already been sent to Priorbank twice, but there was no reaction from them.
Volha shared her story on Belinvestbank's Facebook page. After that, she received a call from a Belinvestbank employee. He explained that the bank's staff were doing everything possible to speed up the process, but her request required additional review, which could take up to a month. They promised to keep the woman informed and provide a written response.
"Zvyazda" contacted the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office for comment.
According to the law "On Citizens' and Legal Entities' Appeals," an application or complaint from a citizen must be reviewed no later than 15 days. If it requires additional study and verification, it must be reviewed no later than 1 month from the date of its registration with the organization. If more than a month is needed, the applicant must be informed of the reasons within 5 days from the date of extension of the review period. In this case, the time required for further review of the appeal must be specified. For not receiving a response to her application from the bank, the citizen has the right to complain to their higher authorities.
In accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses, for violations of the aforementioned appeal review deadlines, a fine is imposed – from 4 to 10 base units, reported Irina Tavtyn, Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the Vitebsk Region for Supervision of Legislation Compliance on Citizens' Appeals.
P.S. As the article was being prepared for publication, Volha reported that the money – 760,200 rubles – had been returned to her card. The woman checked her balance on Friday the 13th and was very pleased. However, she has not yet received a written response.
Aliaksandr Pukshanski, Zvyazda