Relief as $2.85m 'miracle' ransom raised to free father, crew

Dubai: "The past 24 hours have been crazy," said Nareman Jawaid, still talking between calls on Wednesday afternoon.

The deadline for the release of her father Captain Jawaid Saleem Khan and 21 others held by Somali pirates expired on Tuesday. But well past midnight, no one was sure if the $2.85 million (Dh10.45 million) ransom money had been raised.

A financial consultant in Dubai, Jawaid, 28, was all alone in her apartment, tottering between hope and despair. Every few minutes she was phoning her mother and sister in Pakistan, her eyes fixed on the news breaking on her computer. Then, somewhere along the line, "a miracle happened".

Miracle

Ahmad Chinoy, Head of Pakistan Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, who has taken up the cause of the captured crew, informed the family that the ransom money had been arranged. People, known and unknown, had put together the impossible amount. It was now a question of working out the logistics to secure the crew's release.

"I am tired but so relieved," said Nareman, who has pursued a relentless international media campaign to save her father's life. While her family, with the help of Chinoy and others, worked on the ground to gather public support, Nareman and her sister Mishal used Facebook, Twitter and traditional media to get the word across.

Humanity

"It is touching how sometimes relationships can grow in such critical circumstances and people who don't even know each other come together for the sake of humanity," she said, grateful for the overwhelming support the campaign has received.

But she is careful not to get carried away. "You can never tell with surety what the outcome will be. We can only hope and act in good faith. I am still praying for my father's safe release."

The last she saw Captain Jawaid was at Jebel Ali port days before his cargo ship MV Albedo was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Gulf of Aden on November 26, 2010. It had 23 crew members aboard — seven Pakistanis, seven Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis, two Indians and one Iranian.

Died on board

"One Indian has died on board due to medical problems," said Nareman, adding that the plight of the crew has been a huge concern for families.

Speaking from Pakistan, Chinoy told XPRESS on Wednesday that he has been in touch with the pirates and the crew members.

"The pirates are online with us. I have spoken to four-five crew members as well since yesterday. They are out of danger as of now, but their condition is miserable as they do not have access to proper food, water, sanitation or medication," he said.

Chinoy expects the final round of talks with the pirates to take place this week.

"We are hoping that the logistics for the release of the crew will be worked out in another two weeks."

The captain's wife Shahnaz Jawaid said: "I hope everything goes well. It's been a chaotic time for all of us." Nareman, who draws inspiration from her mother's strength, said she cannot wait for the family to be reunited. "I have been keeping myself busy by going to work and doing what I am supposed to do. But I hope I don't have to wait much longer to be with my father — and family — again."

MV Albedo, a cargo ship loaded with cement, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden after a 12-hour chase on November 26, 2010. The Malaysian-owned ship was on its way from Dubai to Kenya. It had on board 23 crew members — seven Pakistanis, seven Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis, two Indians and one Iranian — when it was seized.

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Burj Khalifa Metro station and Dubai Mall to be linked by raised walkway

The National staff

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A raised pedestrian walkway is to be built to link Burj Khalifa Metro station and The Dubai Mall, it was announced this morning.

The 820-metre glass tube will include 10 moving 'travellators' – five in each direction – and will be completed next year, said Emaar Malls Group, which owns and operates The Dubai Mall.

Officials said they hoped the walkway would reduce the number of vehicles arriving at the mall by making public transport more convenient. Currently, people arriving by Metro must leave the station and walk to the mall, which is not practical during the summer months.

Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Properties, said: “The Dubai Mall is one of the most visited tourist, retail, and leisure destinations in the world.

“While the mall offers covered parking for over 14,000 vehicles, we have been evaluating various alternatives to further streamline visitor traffic and add to their convenience.

“The Dubai Mall Metro link will also serve visitors to Burj Khalifa and the various attractions in Downtown Dubai.”

He said the link would be able to carry 13,500 people per hour.

newsdesk@thenational.ae

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Readers' issues raised

Loan deferment
I asked Union National Bank (UNB) for a loan deferment for January 2011. Since I had paid the bank on time for six consecutive months, I was eligible for a loan postponement of one month. The application was made through call centre assistance. The Salam branch in Abu Dhabi called me back, asking why I made the request and I told them there was an emergency back home that I needed to settle this month.

However, the bank refused to grant my request due to the inconsistency of the exact amount of my monthly salary coming in from the bank. I was then told to come back after three months and make a request and that is when they will allow for the postponement.
Out of dismay I called up UNB customer care to ask them to take a second look at my case. Unfortunately, it was declined again. As a customer I have the right to know the bank’s policy on this matter. It seems that the bank does not really care for their clients. They must take into consideration the reasons why the client is requesting such things due to unavoidable circumstances happening in one’s life.
From Mr Dexter Cuenca
Abu Dhabi

Editor’s note: The complaint was forwarded to Union National Bank for comments. However, despite repeated reminders, its management failed to respond.

Mr Cuenca updates:
I got a phone call from UNB’s Salam branch and they are postponing my loan payment for this month [January]. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to you for helping people like me.

Delayed connection
I had applied for an e-Life 16mb double play package on January 27 since I was moving to the National Paints area in Sharjah. I had applied through etisalat’s service centre near University City, Sharjah. A technician visited the place within two days and installed the equipment. He even tested with his user name and password and the browser was fine. But when he put my user name it was rejected. He told me to contact the service centre and 101 help line.

That was the start of my nightmare. I visited the service centre numerous times and complained through 101, even to the supervisor, but all in vain. Every time I speak with them they say sorry for the delay and promise to escalate it with their IT department since they are not closing the service order. I am really surprised to see the worst service ever on such a big scale by a telecom operator. I hope my complaint reaches the right authorities who are responsible for etisalat’s quality of service and customer satisfaction.
From Mr Humayon Fur Seddiqi
Sharjah

The management of etisalat responds:
Kindly be informed that Mr Humayon Fur Seddiqi issue has been resolved.

Mr Seddiqi responds:
I really appreciate Gulf News for their help and support for resolving my problem at the same time thank them for providing a forum where everyone has the opportunity to express their issues and problems they face. The best part is that you feel that someone is really trying to help you professionally. Thank you Gulf News for your sincere efforts.

Unauthorised transactions

This is to quote my displeasure of timely action not being taken on my credit card dispute with First Gulf Bank on the issue of two unauthorised transactions of Dh500 each made to etisalat e-shop. I lodged my first complaint with the bank on August 22 over telephone, seeking details of the transactions and to take measures to avoid it in the future. On a continued pursuit of this, I had registered three more complaints, but to date no positive result has come.
From Mr Suresh Kumar Kamalakshan
Dubai

The management of First Gulf Bank responds:
After further investigation, we have requested the customer submit all the related documents of the case and write an official letter of the case to check it through our system and make sure of the deductions. We are still waiting for that from the customer but once this is done, the customer will be refunded.

Mr Kamalakshan responds:
Thank you for your action on my complaint

Waiting for refund

I had paid the amount of Dh50 into my du “Pay as you Go” account without realising that the SIM card had expired. When I contacted du for a refund they said they cannot pay it back, but that they would credit it to my new du number if I purchased one. I purchased another SIM card and have been chasing du for the past three months. They still have not credited the amount due to me and every time I call the customer service line I only get a new complaint [reference number] and a promise that somebody will call me.
From Mr Natarajan Radhakrishnan
Sharjah

The management of du responds:
We would like to confirm that following an investigation by the du team and collaboration with the customer, we have successfully resolved the issue.

Mr Radhakrishnan responds:
I am glad to inform you that du called me and the matter has been resolved.

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Readers' issues raised for action

Interest rate squabble

I run a small business and have had a current account with RAK Bank, Al Ain, since January 28, 2008. In December 2010, I have received many telephone calls from RAK Bank Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain branches stating: "You have [completed] three years and [are] eligible to get top-up loan with [the] lowest interest as I already took a loan for Dh100,000."

The RAK Bank loan section staff who handled my file called me and said that all the processes had been completed and I had to come and sign the agreement. Before signing the agreement I found out that it had a high interest rate and the commission charges were 3 per cent.

I strongly objected as they are very high and [was of the opinion that they should] thus be revised. Also, the commission charges should have been applied only to the top-up loan and should have excluded the remaining loan amount (Dh75,000), which I paid commission for already (Dh3,000 for Dh100,000). At that time, they promised me that should I agree to take the loan, the commission charges would be reduced to about 2 per cent.

They said it was possible to revise the interest rate after the completion of three years (at the time of loan approval on January 4, 2011, with just 21 days remaining to complete 3 years). After they promised to reduce the commission charges to 2 per cent, I agreed and signed the agreement (it was noted in the agreement that the commission charges were 2 per cent).

But after receiving my monthly statement, [I discovered that] the bank had debited Dh7,500 — 2.5 per cent as commission for the full loan amount of Dh300,000! After one month I met the manager and explained my issue and asked for the revision of the interest rate and commission charges as promised by their staff. The manager rejected my request and said that there was no way to revise the interest rate and commission charges. The loan section staff issued such assurances to the customer, yet the manager rejected it!

From Mr Abdullah Syed Ali
Al Ain

Mr Ian Hodges, Head of Personal Banking, RAK Bank, responds: The loan application form duly signed and accepted by the customer explicitly mentions the rate of interest and applicable processing fees.

In view of the above, we regret we are unable to accede to the customer’s request for a reduction of the interest rates and the charges levied as he was fully aware of these at the time of taking the loan. At RAK Bank, we strive to ensure the best offering for our customers and to keep their interests prime in all our endeavours.

Mr Syed Ali responds: Of course, I signed the application [but] only because the loan section staff assured me that the interest rate would be reduced after the completion of three years. My question is how could the RAK Bank staff give this assurance and why should the bank’s management reject it?

Furthermore, while discussing this issue with the assistant manager, he told me if I apply for further top-up loan the interest rate will be reduced! But I refused to go for a further top-up loan. So, I kindly request you to intervene to take corrective and favourable action.

Mr Hodges responds:

In response to the issues raised by Mr Abdullah Syed Ali, the bank’s stance remains the same as stated in our previous letter.

Settling of account

Two weeks ago, my e-Life account was suspended. I thought it was a technical problem as I pay my entire bill each month. After calling 101, they told me that I had a pending payment of Dh556 that should be settled from the dial-up account, which was opened in November 2008, but has never been activated.

This account has been closed when I installed the Al Shamil account since dial-up services were not accessible in the building I was living in, located in Al Qusais. It has been one-and-a-half years since I have left that building. The customer service agent informed me that this account was still running under my name and they were billing me each month.

So, they were charging me for a closed and never used account for more than two-and-a half years without suspending the line or even informing me. By that time, the etisalat employee told me to pay the minimum, and I paid Dh50 to get my current e-Life account working. They told me that etisalat had been sending the bills to my postal address in Abu Dhabi. I was surprised as I have never been to Abu Dhabi.

I contacted etisalat and submitted a complaint. They gave me a complaint number. The complaint was transferred to the accounts department and it is still pending there. Every time I call 101, they tell me that they do not have any update from the accounts department and I must wait and see. I kindly request you to assist in solving this problem as I am afraid that they will cut my e-Life account again if I do not pay the balance. I trust that you will consider the above situation. Thank you for your cooperation.

From Mr Amr Al Haj
Dubai

The management of etisalat responds: Kindly be informed that Mr Amr Al Haj’s issue has been resolved.

Mr Al Haj responds: Thank you for your assistance as the issue has been resolved by etisalat. They called me and said that the amount has been waived and the balance is now credited to my account.

Late charges

I took a car loan in 2006 from my previous employer, with my salary being transferred to Standard Chartered Bank. I serviced the four-year car loan, only to receive a call from the bank, sometime between December 2010 and January 2011, that I had an overdue amount of Dh2,800. I asked the representative what these charges were for, and he said it was for all the late payment/insufficient funds.

I told him that every time I missed my due date, I put more money on the account as I was aware of the charges. But to date I still have these overdue charges. I find it upsetting, as I asked him to help me get a discount or reduce it by 50 per cent to finish it up and get all the necessary papers, which will say that I own the car already.

But I got another call in February 2011 and the amount went up to Dh3,200. I told them to wait and that if I had enough money then I would pay them. I would really appreciate if you could help me resolve this matter with them. Right now I can only pay half of the amount they are asking me. Hoping you could help me settle this issue with them.

From Ms Jennifer Baylosis Osabel
Sharjah

The management of Standard Chartered Bank responds: Upon receiving the complaint, Standard Chartered’s customer care unit contacted Ms Jennifer Baylosis Osabel and explained the validity of the charges levied on her auto loan and that have been communicated to the customer and which are disclosed and communicated to customers in the price guide, which is available at our branches and on our website. The customer has agreed to come to the bank on March 26 to settle the charges and then receive her release letter.

Ms Osabel responds: I wanted to thank Gulf News for intervening in this. I agreed to pay the settlement amount and am going to the bank to request my auto loan clearance letter. Once again, thank you.

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