19 October 2007

WE refer to the letter, Banks as bad as Ah Long, on Sept 17 where Seet Mun Chor mentioned that his bank would not stop interest charges on his loan even though he was in the process of transferring the loan to his spouse.

As we do not have sufficient details on the matter (that is, the documents could have been mis- placed at the lawyer�s office or land office) we are unable to com- ment further on his complaint.

We wish to advise that banks do encourage customers with finan- cial difficulties to approach them, and depending on the merits of the case, banks may help by re- structuring or rescheduling their l o a ns.

Sometimes it may be necessary for customers to raise their com- plaints with the customer com- plaints unit at the bank�s head of fic e.

If customers fail to reach a solution with the bank, they may also approach the Credit Coun- selling and Debt Management Agency for help in managing their de b t .

Alternatively, the Financial Me- diation Bureau is another avenue where customers may seek redress on disputes involving monetary l o s s e s.

Wong Suan Lye Executive director, The Association of Banks in Malaysia