“Everything is done to discourage you from contacting them”. The least we can write isis that Florent is angry with the customer service of Belfius. This resident of Pervez (Walloon Brabant) contacted us via the orange Alert Us button to let us know of his impatience with a situation between him and his bank.
It all started last September. Florent sells an item via Marketplace, the Facebook group’s online service. He receives from the buyer the sum of 350 euros in cash, ie seven 50-euro notes. A smooth business, but he does not prefer to keep such a sum in cash. He goes to a Belfius agency, his bank, located in Thorembais-Saint-Trond.
One ticket retained out of the seven
Once there, he inserts the seven banknotes into the slot provided for this purpose. But suddenly, a small message appears on the screen: “Ticket kept for control“. Florent details: “I saw him by chance before he disappeared. But nothing noted on the account statements following the deposit, and therefore no proof”.
The machine offers him to confirm the deposit of 300 euros and not 350 euros. He prefers to recover this sum while waiting to see more clearly. No way for him to stay in such a floating situation. “I asked to see a bank agent who received me. I didn’t want to leave without having proof of the pending ticket, and almost all my proposals were refused by the agent. In the end, the best I could get was for the agent to open a case, giving details of what just happened.”
It makes you wonder if there is someone behind the customer service of this application.
Here it is with an open dispute procedure on its application, so a confirmation that a problem occurred during the bank deposit. A race against time begins for Florent, because the sooner he gets the truth about this suspicious note, the sooner he can turn against the buyer. “I am told 15 days to get a response from the bank.”
But after 15 days of waiting, still no response from Belfius on the authenticity of the 50 euro note. Florent says he tried to contact Belfius customer service many times, but in vain. “It makes you wonder if there is someone behind the customer service of this app.”, he asks himself ironically. It is finally via an Instagram publication from the Belfius account that he will get an answer. “I was able to get the following response: they are overwhelmed, and the processing of the file will take 5 to 6 weeks.”
But more than 12 weeks later, still no response. “I’m supposed to go back to see the buyer with my certificate so that he can reimburse me the €50, but what do I look like in terms of credibility if I go back to see him several months after the events? It is simply unacceptable. Until proven otherwise, at present, Belfius has simply stolen €50 from me. I am also annoyed with the way they treat their customers, and being able to ignore messages and contact requests like this. It should be illegal.“
The bank reacts
Contacted by us, the Belfius bank sheds light on the procedures. “Counterfeit banknotes are recognized by our machines and separated from real banknotes. A bank employee sends this banknote to the Belfius Cashcenter”. Via the Cashcenter, a certificate is then automatically created for the customer and sent to the customer’s home branch. “If the Cashcenter has doubts, the note is sent to the National Bank of Belgium for control. It can take up to 8 weeks before Belfius receives an answer.” Either a time still below Florent’s 12 weeks.
Belfius specifies that a ticket suspected of being false is always retained, even if the payment is cancelled. “If the ticket is suspicious, the amount is paid. If the ticket is fake, the amount is not paid. If it finally turns out that the ticket is still true, the money is paid after the check” .
In the meantime, Florent continues to lose patience. He concludes : “It’s really the earthen pot against the iron pot. I’m not going to get a lawyer for 50 euros. The concern is the deadlines, I have to be able to go back to the person who provided me with these tickets. If I go back to him 6 months later… Every day that passes, I have less chance of recovering the 50 euros.”