Abuja Customers Cry Out To BCAN Amid Rising Unauthorized Bank Debits

A growing number of bank customers in Abuja have raised concerns about repeated debits from their accounts, despite having lodged formal complaints with their banks.

Some affected customers, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, urged the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) to intervene and safeguard their interests.

They described the recurring charges as increasingly discouraging and unnecessary, calling for immediate regulatory attention.

Mrs. Helen Agodo, a customer of First HoldCo Plc, expressed frustration over the daily debits from her account, describing the situation as “unbearable.” She appealed to BCAN to engage the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant authorities to halt the unauthorized deductions.

“In fact, I do not blame some people who decide not to put their monies in a bank. There was a day I calculated the debit alert charges that I received from my bank; it amounted to N1,000 in just one day. You can imagine the total revenue the bank collects if they do the same for 1,000 to 2,000 customers,” Agodo said.

Another bank customer, Cheta Ugochukwu of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, described the charges as unfair and criticized the practice as an unsustainable business model.

Ugochukwu, who recently learned about BCAN’s activities, called for greater awareness of the association’s work. She urged BCAN to engage bank customers nationwide to achieve a stronger impact.

“Personally, I conduct all my transactions electronically, which I thought aligned with the CBN’s cashless policy. My bank charged me about N1,146 as SMS alert fees for one month. This, to me, is excessive,” she said.

She added, “I initially considered disabling my bank SMS alerts and relying solely on my app receipts after the charges increased. But after reconsideration, I decided to leave it. Now, my mind is made up.”