How Access Bank Frustrated Student For 8-Years Over BVN Verification, Yet No Resolution

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Oshioke Ikpemosimhe Jocelyn Anoghena, an Edo-State-based student, has accused Access Bank of refusing to rectify the name error on his Bank Verification Number (BVN) after enrolling at one of the bank’s branches in Benin City in 2015.

Anoghena told FIJ he has not been able to open a bank account since the error was first noticed in 2018.

“Till we speak, I still can’t open a bank account. I have been battling with this challenge since 2018. This is an error that did not originate from me. Access Bank is the reason behind the error but they have resolved not to take responsibility,” Anoghena said.

THE 2015 BVN ENROLLMENT

The student said he decided to enroll for his BVN with Access bank some of its employees visited the secondary school he attended in 2015.

“The issue started in 2015 when I was in secondary school. Some employees of Access Bank came to my school to register new accounts and Bank Verification Number (BVN) for willing students. They neither demanded money nor any means of identity card,” Anoghena said.

He told FIJ that the employees were from one of the bank’s branches located along Ihama Road in GRA, Benin City, Edo State.

“I was one of the students who registered the bank’s officials when they visited that time. I also did my BVN registration with them in the process,” the student said.

“But, seven years after, I am still unable to get the details of the account they opened for me from them. This actually would not have been an issue if it was just about not receiving account details.”

ERROR IN BVN INFORMATION

The student said the main problem started when he visited a United Bank for Africa (UBA) branch to open an account after gaining admission into the university in 2018.

“I was shocked when the bank official at UBA told me that the only thing linking me to the BVN information I had provided was my picture,” Anoghena said.

“Apart from my face that reflected in the print-out the official showed me, other information like first name, date of birth, and place of birth belonged to a total stranger.

“The name on the BVN information was for one Felly Oputa, a far cry from my actual name — Oshioke Ikpemosimhe Jocelyn Anoghena — and birth date of November 2, 1998.”

Anoghena said he visited a First Bank branch that same year and was given a slip containing the same strange information.

“This time, however, the slip contained the location of the exact Access Bank branch where I registered for my BVN,” the student said.

“When I got to the Access Bank branch and explained my predicament to them, with emphasis on the fact that the error was not from me, I was advised to do a change of name affidavit in court plus a newspaper publication, highlighting the correction of name.

“However, I could not immediately do what was advised by the bank because I had to resume at school.”

‘REPORT YOURSELF TO THE EFCC!’

Anoghena said when he eventually visited the same Access Bank branch to present the officials with all the required documents for the correction as previously advised, he was harshly treated by one of the bank’s representatives.

Anoghena’s Strange BVN Profile

“On getting to the bank, I narrated the incident to the female customer care representative I met. I also made her understand that I had earlier visited the branch in 2018,” Anoghena said.

“After I showed her the required documents that would aid the bank in rectifying the issue, I received a shocker when she ordered me to leave the bank premises at once.

“She also told me to report myself to the EFCC despite explaining that the error did not emanate from me. She said she would order the security officers to throw me out if I refused to leave.

“Even if I want to make an error, it is impossible for me to make an error on my full names. I could have omitted a name or even arranged the names in a wrong manner. Replacing my full name with totally strange names? That is what I would never do.”

The student said he also called Access Bank’s customer care line he got from its website and was told by an agent to give the phone to the particular branch staff that had asked him to leave.

“But this lady said refused to speak with her colleague on the phone. She said she would not talk to anyone. So, I had to leave,” Anoghena said.

Anoghena said he was forced to visit another Access Bank branch in Benin where he was asked to fill a form and submit the court affidavit and newspaper publication he brought with him so that the error can be corrected.

“I was also told to write a letter to the management, which I did. Since that time however, I am yet to hear from the bank. Till we speak, I still do not know whether the error still persists or not,” Anoghena said.

“I spent N15,000 on getting the publication done. It is frustrating that I am now 24 years old and still cannot open a bank account because of Access Bank’s negligence and refusal to help with my BVN issue.”

Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of Access Bank on the issue proved abortive as they did not respond to the email sent to their official email address as of press time.