The disgruntled customers have lodged reports with the police and Bank Negara Malaysia and some have sought legal advice about filing a suit, according to a chat group of about 2,700 affected customers.
One customer, Nadia, from Alor Setar, said her current balance of RM9,035 in her savings account had been replaced with a debit balance of RM48,409 (shown in brackets, denoting a negative value).
She was then told the problem was due to “erroneous duplicate credits” last year and was asked to settle the amount by instalment. Others affected have also said they have received text messages saying they would be offered an instalment plan to settle the “debt”.
CIMB said only a small number of its customers were affected and it was reaching out to them for a “fair and managed resolution”.
A survey at the customers’ chat group showed that about 40% had been asked to repay sums below RM500,000, another 40% asked to repay between RM5,000 and RM150,000.
Another survey showed that two-thirds of respondents used their accounts for “bank transfers and commissions”, and 27% primarily for trading and brokering.
Affected customer Nadia, 33, said her brother was told to repay RM18,000 in instalments. “As for me, the bank said my account would be unfrozen if I settled RM42,000. I asked for my savings to be returned immediately but the bank did not give me a straight response,” she said.
Another customer, Nur Amira Zulhisham, 24, a confinement centre worker, said she first noticed something amiss with her bank account last Tuesday when she received a text asking her to repay RM12,983.
She said she had about RM3,000 in her savings at the time. As a precaution, she tried to transfer as much as possible into another account but could only transfer RM1,500 because of a transaction limit. She said that the amount was just enough to pay her rent and buy necessities for her home and two-month-old baby.
Nur Amira said her savings account was frozen the next day. Her parents, a taxi driver and a nasi lemak seller, had been asked to pay a combined RM100,000.
“We have never taken out any loans with CIMB,” she said.
Account holder, Zahida Dalila, said she might be forced to sell her belongings to stay afloat to get groceries.
An administrator of the chat group, who did not want to be named, said half of the affected persons had been told their accounts would be restored by Feb 2, while the others would be offered “instalment plans”.
In a response to FMT’s query, CIMB said it had noted a “processing error” which had led to a small number of customers receiving duplicate credits in their accounts. “We are reaching out to these customers to ensure a fair and managed resolution,” and affected customers could phone a hotline for further discussions.
FMT has contacted Bank Negara for comment.