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Tuesday, April 19, 2016
[My experience with POSB and DBS Vickers...]
I tried to open a DBS Vickers account recently. I would never have guessed how painful the process would be.
About two weeks ago, I filled in the forms downloaded from the website and headed down to the POSB branch near my office. I was aware that the normal POSB and DBS branches are unable to process the application per se. However, there was one section where POSB/DBS staff is required to sight and verify that the applicant’s signature tallies with what they have on record.
Upon reaching the branch, the lady manning the queue number dispenser was very adamant they do not process DBS Vickers applications and told me to just “mail my forms in”. From what I previously read on their website, I know this to not be true. I tried explaining that someone from the bank needs to sight and verify my signature, but she stood her ground. Not wanting to create a scene, I left the branch, called DBS Vickers to confirm my understanding, and went back to talk to said lady.
This time, I was lucky that another staff passed by and told the lady that I should be referred to this particular staff. When this staff appeared, she checked my documents, and told me my signature did not match the one the bank had on their records and I needed to update my signature.
The signature I have in the banks’ records was made when I was around twelve years old. That’s more than twenty years ago. All this time, my cheques have all cleared without any problems. Now here I am, right in front of you, with my IC in your hands and you don’t believe I am who I claim to be? Were you this stringent when people show up with cheques in my name, to take money out from my account?
As I needed to update my signature, I was told to get a queue number for the usual counters. I was told the teller would be able to update my signature and also sight and verify the forms for me. I waited another 30 minutes for my turn. When my turn came, the updating of signature proved uneventful. However, when confronted with the DBS Vickers application forms, the teller did not know what to do. I told her she’s supposed to verify my signature and then send all the forms (including those for the opening of CDP) to their Vickers office. She checked with the male teller next to her and he said the same thing as the lady who was manning the queue.
“We don’t do Vickers here!”
No, you don’t. But you are supposed to facilitate the process, which you clearly do not know. I called the Vickers customer service number again to confirm that they are to help send all the documents to Vickers, and not as what the tellers claimed – that they (Vickers) only needed the Vickers forms while I had to send the CDP forms to CDP myself.
In case you don’t realise what’s going on – I’m on the phone with someone from DBS and passing on their instructions to POSB staff. A member of public linking up two parties in the same organisation.
Finally, they agreed to send all the forms to Vickers for me, and I left. That was about two weeks ago.
Yesterday, I received my forms back in the mail. There were problems with my forms. Firstly, I did not indicate the address of my employer. I didn’t think this was important when I filled in the form, but admittedly it’s an oversight on my part.
The other issues are just hilarious. The POSB staff did not sign the forms after sighting and verifying my signature. The CDP forms I filled in were out-dated (ie. the ones on DBS Vickers’ website are incorrect), and apparently my payslip is required. The last requirement is not mentioned anywhere on their website or during the prior application process. They also asked for a photocopy of my NRIC, which the POSB branch staff already prepared on that day. Apparently it’s gone now (I wonder where it went; should I be worried?).
Being sick of all this, I went direct to DBS Vickers’ office today during lunch. I passed the documents to their staff, who assured me that everything’s in order now and that I can expect my accounts to be ready in about a week.
We’ll see. The process has thus far been painful and at times simply ridiculous.
^^^ by Locksley @ 4:08 PM.
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