Piraeus Banks Clients Speak Out

The effects of the rise of the Piraeus bank issue and its aftermath are still being observed and counted. The people most affected by the unethical banking practice of Piraeus Bank and its poor management policies was its clientele based on general public. The horrors and panic faced by the clients is unfathomable and its psychological effects long lasting.  As the authorities have done a fairly good job in suppressing most negative information, it has become increasingly difficult to find the many client complains and comments that had been on online regarding Piraeus Bank. But going down that internet rabbit hole there still remains a few client complains and experiences that went unnoticed.

According to several clients of the bank, “Most Cyprus banks collect a commission of 1.5 percent on average when changing 500-euro bills for notes of lower denominations, citing this as a administrative cost of keeping their branches stocked with notes of smaller value”  (“Greek Banks Admit To Charging Customers To Exchange Big Bills For Smaller Ones | Zero Hedge”).

The effects on the bank’s customers were atrocious, and below are some documented Piraeus Bank clients that shared their stories and experiences with us. This Piraeus Bank customer explained that he had been a customer for approximately six years. He explained that the bank had closed and frozen his accounts overnight, with no prior notification. This created a situation where he could not pay his employees and suppliers, and was not even able to pay for his living expenses. All his incoming payments including his regular monthly payroll, and all inbound and outgoing wire transfers were stopped and rejected.  After contacting the bank dozens of times they continued to assure him that they would look after everything, however, there was never any follow through.

Time and again they were asked for documentation, of which they agreed they would send, and once again no follow through. This has not only damaged his business reputation he has also lost long term employees and credibility with his suppliers. Many of his suppliers were well known by the bank and had been receiving monthly wire transfers, however, the resulting inefficiency of Piraeus Bank has created a situation where numerous suppliers have changed the terms of his ongoing business in a negative way. Sadly this client went on to say that both his financial losses and the company time he lost were horrific, and he feels that his situation breathes remnants of the Marfin Bank situation, and is non-recoupable.

Another customer went on to say; Piraeus Bank has a severe problem with ethics and morality and feels that this bank impoverishes investors by inducing them to buy bad investments. Furthermore, we feel we have been robbed – the bank that we are supposed to be able to trust to keep our funds safe is sleazy, predatory, and abusive. This client to date is still trying to recover from this economic disaster.

Another Piraeus bank customer says that he was abused time and time again by Piraeus banks “so called” customer service, and was placed on hold for up to forty to fifty minutes, and then once connected he had to go through countless adverts for bank services, and then through double authorizations to FINALLY get to a human being, only to be told that the customer service representative wanted his information all over again, could not resolve his issues, and then was either disconnected and placed on hold again.  Nothing to date has been resolved; not his frozen bank accounts nor any of his rejected bill payments. He shook his head sadly and said his “life is a complete mess.”

The stress and psychological pressures the clients of Piraeus Bank have gone through is unimaginable. The life savings of old people and the young were equally withheld by the banks without prior intimation or announcement. Not being able to access your own hard earned money just because the banks mismanaged their resources or the fact that they were working with the central governments to follow their policies is a savagery at a whole other level. It is important to note that the crisis could have been averted had the banks properly followed the banking principles, audit procedures and invested out of personal agendas. But in any case it is as always the general public which suffers and so is the case in this crisis.

Many of Piraeus Banks former clients have said that they are far from feeling satisfied that any form of punishment has been forthcoming, and feel that the deeper underlying issue is that they never got closure from this crisis, and continue to feel that the crisis is still going on. The larger issue they say is that it still feels like unfinished business.