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| Title of Complaint | Standard Bank Robbery |
| Date of Complaint | 24 May 2006 |
| Company | Standard Bank |
| Complaint | This complaint is not aimed at embarrassing or disrespecting any person or branch, but merely voicing strong discontent with the fact that the lives of the customers were not valued as it should have been. Also, this is not an attempt for compensation or some kind of after-thought response. This letter is to voice a consumer response. I apologise in advance to any offence this letter causes.
Yesterday the Standard Bank Lenasia branch was invaded by around six armed men. My mother and sister were two of three customers in the bank. There was another Standard Bank staff person on the floor. At the same time the money trolley was going around six men entered. One of the armed robbers demanded the money. Another was beating the staff person threatening to shoot everyone. The staff immediately locked themselves in another room behind the bullet-proof partitions leaving the four women in the bank with the robbers. The robbers began to shout, wave their guns around, scream and demand that the inner door to behind the partitions should be opened. I concede that this may be policy. Whether or not this was policy, the decision not to do so endangered the lives of my mum and sister and the other two women. The robbers began getting agitated and hitting the glass door with their guns. Besides this, when they demanded to be let out, the highly protected staff behind the bullet proof glass and the other room walls did not open the exit doors. Now picture six angry, nervous men with guns, trapped in the bank, the staff failing to think logically and four scared and traumatised women…. The men began shouting and threatening to shoot, and began beating the staff woman. She screamed for the rest of the staff to open the doors, but still they did not listen. For around 7 minutes my mum, sister and another lady shook on the floor, praying, and waiting for the shots. Finally the staff opened the door, but mum & sister and the other customer remained on the floor, unable to see the exit. No one told them everything was fine, nor did anyone ask how they were. In fact the staff lady who was beaten asked if they were fine. My mother asked one of the managers if it fine to leave and he very rudely said ‘no, you have to give a statement first’. Furthermore, they later overheard from a conversation between another floor-staff member, who ran upstairs, and a teller that she wondered why no-one pressed the silent alarm. The staff behind the bullet proof windows and the room walls, who sat near the insured bank cash, treated each others’ trauma with sugared water – a home remedy shock treatment – and rushed upstairs to the unaffected staff to treat their shock. Not one person asked how the customers were, whether they needed to call anyone or offered to take their names and numbers down for post-trauma counselling – bank policy in SA at other banks. Needless to say, my mum and sister walked out without giving a statement to the rude and inconsiderate staff at Standard Bank Lenasia. My sister is a normal bank customer who banks her salary in a savings account. My mother was doing banking for our local church, which she does every week. For the past 5 years. I hope this will change. The Lenasia branch is most convenient for banking purposes, and the staff knows her well. Are we to assume that they were considered a security risk in this kind of situation, so as not to be brought into the safer section!? And it was possible since the man with the trolley had to walk pass them -through those doors AFTER he gave the money to the robber (Again I concede to ‘bank policy’). Besides this, are we supposed to be grateful that just because they harmed no-one it doesn’t really matter whether protocol was followed?! Are we supposed to assume that together with the increasing mistrust of our policing system, that the security systems in a private bank are just going the same way?! Are we supposed to think that because crime is a frequent occurrence in SA, customers should assume preparedness for incidents in banks, and deal with the consequences? There is absolutely no excuse for the kind of behaviour which values insured money more than the safety of the customers they serve. Naturally we are unspeakably thankful that my mum and sister are home safe. However, if something fatal had to happen to them, we would have never assumed that the possible reason was misconduct on behalf of the staff. We would have assumed that the bank did everything in their power to safeguard the customers and the robbers were just heartless mercenaries intent to harm. Standard Bank Lenasia was absolutely irresponsible in its conduct. I do not allow the excuse of trauma and nervousness since they were not the ones in the same space as the gunmen! I am revolted and disgusted at this. And yes it is because two of my own were involved, those worth far more than other customers’ insured money. PS. Besides this letter being sent to the branch manager, it has also been sent to Standard Bank Customer Relations, and has been CC-ed to few people in Standard and other banks, The Mail and Guardian, The Star, Big Little Voice – A South African private customer complaint service, The Gauteng Office of Consumer Affairs and the National Consumer Forum, since service is a product we pay for at banks. |
| Response on behalf of Standard Bank | Awaiting a Response |
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