Amongst the mail waiting for me when I returned from Ireland was the first Statement of Account we have received from our mortgage company in two years. According to the statement, we have paid off a sum total of about US$ 200 over the course of twenty four months.
When I signed with Tamweel, I was required to write 36 post-dated cheques to cover mortgage payments for three years. Four months after finance was released, I noticed the cheques were not being cashed.
For a while, I considered ignoring it in the off-chance that Tamweel wouldn’t notice that they weren’t collecting payment from one of their clients. Turns out the off-chance was more a probability and I should really have gone with that option. Instead, I called Tamweel.
“Terribly sorry, terribly sorry, Madam,” they said, before emptying the entire bank account and licking it clean. Since then, Tamweel has collected payment with a regularity and precision that would inspire a Swiss physicist.
However, according to our Statement of Account, we have made only 17 out of 24 mortgage payments – but WAIT! – please, the fun doesn’t stop there. ‘Delay Payment Charges’ have been applied every month, along with a munificent amount of interest.
Fresh from my holiday, I approached Tamweel with applied graciousness, tranquil reason and vast potential for forgiveness. The Love lasted a long time. No really, I’m talking MINUTES.
Tragically, over the course of four weeks, The Love has disintegrated into a bloody feud involving lots of clenching, cursing, and whispered threats of retribution delivered with little flecks of foaming saliva.
You want a pretty picture? Look at a Monet.
Last week, Tamweel emailed me an amended Statement of Account. According to this document, we now owe Tamweel roughly twice the original finance value.
I immediately rang Customer ‘Service’, so furious that I could barely speak. This can be a distinct disadvantage on a telephone call, but in this instance I’m not sure talking would have made any difference WHATSOEVER.
“What’s that noise?” said the infuriatingly cheerful Customer Service Representative.
“The popping sound? That would be my blood boiling.”
It was actually me pounding my fingers on the table. But hey, lying is hardly as bad as trying to bilk innocent homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars.
We’re still waiting for resolution. Last we heard from Tamweel, they are unable to remove the delay payment charges from their billing system – but no problem! They will simply adjust the rest of the figures so the outstanding balance is more accurate.
Not accurate, you note; we can only dream. MORE accurate
[...] couldn’t wait to leave the Middle East, our first visit was to Tamweel, our mortgage company. You may recall that last October, the first statement of account we received in two years failed to reflect [...]