I have a joint homeloan with my husband. Just recently, in November I closed my savings and opened a cheque acc. I had a 4mth arrears credit card balance which as usual I intended to settle fully at March end when I receive my bonus WHICH I COMMUNICATED TO THEM. At end Jan, Std Bnk deducts +-R 5000 WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME OF THIS PRIOR. I phoned them, and promises were made to investigate and try to refund me- NO REFUND- NO RESPONSE. At March end, with my husband having made payment arrangements re our home loan, Std bank, sees fit to deduct R20000 from my personal cheque account, once again WITHOUT INFORMING OR GETTING AUTHORISATION FROM ME or arranging with ME. Apparently policy allows them to take what they need from any linked account which makes me angry that I even thought of opening a chq acc with them. In 3 mths, they have taken R25000 from me which I need to live and take care of 3 kids. THEY HAVE NO CONSCIENCE THAT I DON'T HAVE A SINGLE CENT LEFT IN MY ACC, WHEN MY HUSBAND AS BEEN CONSISTENTLY IN CONTACT WITH THEM RE HOMELOANS PMNT ARRANGEMENTS. SO, THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! I DEMAND A FULL REFUND AND AN OPPORTUNITY FROM THERE, TO RESTRUCTURE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS.

I'm being harassed by Standard bank. I receive telephone calls from their call center either from the 011 981 xxxx numbers (registered to Standard bank) or from an unknown number. For some reason their call center always comes through as a data call and as such I cannot answer. However, their voice messages confirm that it is Standard bank looking for one of their clients. It appears to be their credit department.

On the 19th of January 2010 I brought this to their attention. After a couple of weeks they managed to find the offending account and removed my cellphone number from their records. Now I am once again receiving these calls. Frequent emails to the gentlemen (Matlanato, William W, a very helpfull chap at the time) who assisted me the first time yielded no results. Not even a reply email.

I have mp3 records of a number of these calls and yet they still cannot seem to resolve this issue. I would very much like this matter to be escalated to a higher level as the current support team is ineffective.

I have now indicated that I am willing to bring my lawyers into the matter as this is unacceptable. How difficult is it to keep my number off their system?

Around 10 and 11 January there were 4 international transactions where someone from another country drew money from my Standard Bank account with an ATM card. It was not my card as I still had my card in my possession here in South Africa. I advised the relevant department at Standard Bank and cancelled my card. The total of the fraudulent transactions was about R2600. I was told by Bronwyn de Gray Birch, Transactional Queries Standard Bank Integrated Processing Centre in her first email: '..in order for us to get a location and reversal done we need to send a request through to the department that deals with these withdrawals, however these requests can take 45 days or more to get an answer...'. I received a few updates, the last of which was today, 9 March which said '...received a response from the foreign bank and according to them everything was successful so they won't be refunding you back...' The only other way for me to try get my money back is a whole long complicated procedure. It is not my fault. It is the bank's fault. Why can I not get my money back! I intend to change to another bank as I am extremely upset about this.

I am 21 years old and a student, so my allowance is the only income I have which is used for my art supplies etc. For the last 6 months Standard bank has been deducting money from my account for a service they call business online, I have never been on the internet concerning my bank account, so I don't know where it started? I certainly never game permission. It started off with R87 and Friday the 5 of March the amount has been increased to R300. Since this started I had to drive to a branch stand in a queue then was promised that my money will be in my account in 24 hours and that it won't happen again. The money was back but the service continued taking more money the next month and the next and the next. It forces me to get statements which i had to pay for, drive to the nearest branch and put up a fight to get my money back, but they just give back the amount taken and not the costs that Standard Bank deducted which is small amounts like R7 but in the long run becomes a lot. I am just so sick and tired of being nice and having to drive around collecting my own money hopefully this can be sorted out.

I was browsing their website in search of more information regarding home loans and such, when I saw that they offer what they call a 3 month payment holiday...

I quote 'Three month payment holiday option - Option 3: A three month payment holiday options allows you to pay your first instalment three months after registration. '

So... naturally being interested in having this option, I phone their home loans department, to see whether I qualify for this wonderful opportunity. And this is where they inform me that it does not apply to the 3 months after bond registration as their website claims... oh no, you have to pay 12 MONTHS worth of premiums and ONLY AFTER 12 months can you take a 3 month payment holiday.

Is this not false advertising? Do they not deserve a lawsuit against them? They have already botched my application after I specified : FIRST TIME HOME BUYER - JUMPSTART PACKAGE PLEASE. Guess what, I did not get a jumpstart, because it wasn't applied for...

Now this... I am sick and tired of running into walls with them, nothing ever gets done right. EVER!!!