DBS leaves $1 posted on Saturday, January 14, 2006
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DBS Bank deducts payment from NS allowance, leaves only $1 in account
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For a lot of NSmen the few hundred bucks they get credited into their bank accounts on the 10th of each month mean a world to them.
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Just imagine if one unfortunate guy goes to a bank teller and finds that his $400 missing from his account?
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I took a DBS study loan a few years ago for my polytechnic school fees. My father had not been supporting my family since he ran away to Malaysia when I was 14. My only elder brother left for Hongkong to work since I was 16 and he pretty much has a life there himself. -Since all my mother's CPF savings had gone into paying the instalments for the flat we were staying in, I could not use her money for my studies.
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I started working since I was 14. I had endured the stress of working and studying all this time until my call-up for National Service five months ago. Sad to say, the work I did affected my studies and I failed to graduate with a diploma.
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It is stated in the contract, which I did not realise initially, that when I fail to graduate, I have to pay the entire sum owed to DBS Bank. I was at my wit's end. The amount came to $8,000.
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I desperately looked for options from DBS Bank but to no avail. My mother presently works as a cleaner. She hardly makes enough money for the family. So when I went into National Service last September our income fell greatly.
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Luckily, one of the officers in DBS Bank agreed to help me look into my appeal to defer the loan till after my National Service. I had the impression that the repayment would be suspended temporarily as I had already paid almost $500 for interest and other charges last year.
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That had already taken its toll on me. In October last year, driven to desperation I went to one of the bank's branches and authorised it to debit my account at $100 a month out of my $350 National Service allowance.
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I felt relieved as I thought the bank would allow me to spread out my repayments. On January 10, I went to the teller thinking that I would finally be getting my first pay packet that exceeded $350, as I had just graduated from my recruit's phase.
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But I found that my account had only $1 left in it. No one can imagine how desperate I was. I called the bank, explained my situation one more time and asked for the money to be credited back into my account.-The officer explained that the deduction was for penalty and interest payments. But she said she would ask for authorisation from the higher authorities for the money to be put back into my account.-Chinese New Year is coming. I wonder how much I can give my mum for the new year with this meagre allowance and $1 in my bank account.
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I did not get any notice about the deduction from my bank account. I could not think of anything but begged that the money be put back, but the bank's higher authorities has said no.
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I understand that DBS Bank is not a charitable organisation. It runs a business but how can it debit from my account just like this? Where's the sympathy that makes Singaporeans donate millions of dollars into charity every year without fail?
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I am not asking for charity here and I will not accept any charity either. I'm just asking for a deferment till a better time to repay my loan. What is $8,000 to DBS Bank? What is $400 to DBS Bank? I have no idea how much it is going to deduct from my account in the days to come.
--Wan Ee Voon
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Jan 14, 2006
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DBS Bank deducts payment from NS allowance, leaves only $1 in account
--
For a lot of NSmen the few hundred bucks they get credited into their bank accounts on the 10th of each month mean a world to them.
-
Just imagine if one unfortunate guy goes to a bank teller and finds that his $400 missing from his account?
-
I took a DBS study loan a few years ago for my polytechnic school fees. My father had not been supporting my family since he ran away to Malaysia when I was 14. My only elder brother left for Hongkong to work since I was 16 and he pretty much has a life there himself. -Since all my mother's CPF savings had gone into paying the instalments for the flat we were staying in, I could not use her money for my studies.
-
I started working since I was 14. I had endured the stress of working and studying all this time until my call-up for National Service five months ago. Sad to say, the work I did affected my studies and I failed to graduate with a diploma.
-
It is stated in the contract, which I did not realise initially, that when I fail to graduate, I have to pay the entire sum owed to DBS Bank. I was at my wit's end. The amount came to $8,000.
-
I desperately looked for options from DBS Bank but to no avail. My mother presently works as a cleaner. She hardly makes enough money for the family. So when I went into National Service last September our income fell greatly.
-
Luckily, one of the officers in DBS Bank agreed to help me look into my appeal to defer the loan till after my National Service. I had the impression that the repayment would be suspended temporarily as I had already paid almost $500 for interest and other charges last year.
-
That had already taken its toll on me. In October last year, driven to desperation I went to one of the bank's branches and authorised it to debit my account at $100 a month out of my $350 National Service allowance.
-
I felt relieved as I thought the bank would allow me to spread out my repayments. On January 10, I went to the teller thinking that I would finally be getting my first pay packet that exceeded $350, as I had just graduated from my recruit's phase.
-
But I found that my account had only $1 left in it. No one can imagine how desperate I was. I called the bank, explained my situation one more time and asked for the money to be credited back into my account.-The officer explained that the deduction was for penalty and interest payments. But she said she would ask for authorisation from the higher authorities for the money to be put back into my account.-Chinese New Year is coming. I wonder how much I can give my mum for the new year with this meagre allowance and $1 in my bank account.
-
I did not get any notice about the deduction from my bank account. I could not think of anything but begged that the money be put back, but the bank's higher authorities has said no.
-
I understand that DBS Bank is not a charitable organisation. It runs a business but how can it debit from my account just like this? Where's the sympathy that makes Singaporeans donate millions of dollars into charity every year without fail?
-
I am not asking for charity here and I will not accept any charity either. I'm just asking for a deferment till a better time to repay my loan. What is $8,000 to DBS Bank? What is $400 to DBS Bank? I have no idea how much it is going to deduct from my account in the days to come.
--Wan Ee Voon
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