Dispense Error: Lagos Lawyer Paid for UK Visa Appointment Via GTB…Five Months Later, TLS Hasn’t Received It
When Daniel Ojuade, a Lagos State-based lawyer, was debited N43,500 for a failed transaction last year, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) promised to refund him. Five months after, he has not received a dime.
Ojuade told FIJ that he paid N43,500 for a visiting visa appointment on November 3, 2022, but the United Kingdom (UK) embassy in Ikeja did not receive the payment.
“The money was for the added-value service. My account was debited that same day, but I didn’t get the value for the service I paid for,” he said.
He said he had to opt for the free service, which denied him the preferential treatment the paid service would have afforded him.
The Lagos lawyer also said the UK visa appointment booking was always done online, and he had been making payments online for years without difficulties.
“I sent an email to the visa application centre and they said the money did not reach their end. They said I should go to my bank and ask for a chargeback,” he said.
“The issue with the free service is that you will be attended to at their convenient time, and you can never determine when you will be attended to.
“You will not be given preferential treatment like others that paid. When you pay, they will attend to you and sort everything out for you.”
He noted that he lodged a complaint at the bank on November 15, after which GT Bank sent him an email that the issue would be resolved by November 18.
On November 18, the bank sent another email, stating that the lawyer’s account would be credited within three working days. That didn’t happen.
“I sent them emails on several occasions. I visited three branches of the bank several times too because of the incompetence and lack of proper treatment, but they kept saying my complaint had been lodged and they would attend to it. How many times will I keep lodging a complaint?” He asked.
“I visited the branch in Amadiya, around Alagbado, and another in Ikorodu. I also went to the Obalende branch and the GT Bank around the Kam Salem area.
“I remember I told a customer care agent then that the money was for a visit visa and asked if it would have been resolved by the time I returned to Nigeria, and she said yes. The money is nowhere to be found till now.”
He told FIJ that he spent several hours at the bank again on March 7, and after he demanded to see the branch manager, the customer care representatives said they would handle the issue.
“They sent an email to apologise that they would resolve it and refund my money, but till this very day, I haven’t got my money,” he said.
On Thursday, FIJ emailed Cornelius Onuoha, a GTB public relations officer, for comments, but he did not acknowledge the email. FIJ also called and sent him a text message. He did not respond.
