I wanted to share a recent, and frankly, quite shocking experience I've had with ICICI Bank while applying for the Emeralde Private Metal card. I’m hoping to get some advice from the seasoned members here, as I feel I've been led down a garden path.
For context, my family and I are long-time premium banking customers with HDFC (Imperia), and Axis (Burgundy). We were seriously considering making ICICI our primary bank, starting with the EPM card and followed by a home loan of over 3 crores. The initial interactions with our RM and his manager were positive, and they were the main reason we decided to proceed.
It all started on August 5th when we logged in the application. We were given absolute assurance that my eligibility was a non-issue and that the card's approval was more or less a formality. I already hold an HDFC Infinia and Magnus Burgundy with high limits.
The first strange turn was when we were strongly advised to open a Demat account. The reasoning given was that having multiple product relationships strengthens the profile and is almost a necessity for a smooth approval for a card like the EPM. In good faith, we went ahead and opened one. Looking back, this feels like the first step in a classic case of mis-selling.
For the next two weeks, the application status on the portal never moved from "Information being collected." When I followed up, I was told the application was with the "State Head" for a pre-login approval, and just a couple of days ago, the RM confirmed that this approval had been received.
This is where it gets bizarre. Despite this supposed "approval," the online status remained unchanged. Then, this morning, I checked the portal only to be greeted with a message: "We are sorry to hear that you have withdrawn your application."
To be crystal clear: I never withdrew my application.
This entire experience feels like a bait-and-switch. I was given false assurances, induced to open a new product under the pretense that it was required, fed inaccurate updates, and then had my application terminated without my consent. All this while the same team is actively pushing me to log in a multi-crore home loan, a decision that hinges entirely on trust.
I've since spoken to a representative from the office of Mr. Anish Madhavan (Head of Credit Cards), who escalated it internally and I also wrote to the Principal Nodal Officer and the Head of Service Quality.
My question to the forum is, what now?
TLDR: Applied for EPM and almost logged in my home loan application of more than 3 crores, but got misled and deceived by the RM and his team.
For context, my family and I are long-time premium banking customers with HDFC (Imperia), and Axis (Burgundy). We were seriously considering making ICICI our primary bank, starting with the EPM card and followed by a home loan of over 3 crores. The initial interactions with our RM and his manager were positive, and they were the main reason we decided to proceed.
It all started on August 5th when we logged in the application. We were given absolute assurance that my eligibility was a non-issue and that the card's approval was more or less a formality. I already hold an HDFC Infinia and Magnus Burgundy with high limits.
The first strange turn was when we were strongly advised to open a Demat account. The reasoning given was that having multiple product relationships strengthens the profile and is almost a necessity for a smooth approval for a card like the EPM. In good faith, we went ahead and opened one. Looking back, this feels like the first step in a classic case of mis-selling.
For the next two weeks, the application status on the portal never moved from "Information being collected." When I followed up, I was told the application was with the "State Head" for a pre-login approval, and just a couple of days ago, the RM confirmed that this approval had been received.
This is where it gets bizarre. Despite this supposed "approval," the online status remained unchanged. Then, this morning, I checked the portal only to be greeted with a message: "We are sorry to hear that you have withdrawn your application."
To be crystal clear: I never withdrew my application.
This entire experience feels like a bait-and-switch. I was given false assurances, induced to open a new product under the pretense that it was required, fed inaccurate updates, and then had my application terminated without my consent. All this while the same team is actively pushing me to log in a multi-crore home loan, a decision that hinges entirely on trust.
I've since spoken to a representative from the office of Mr. Anish Madhavan (Head of Credit Cards), who escalated it internally and I also wrote to the Principal Nodal Officer and the Head of Service Quality.
My question to the forum is, what now?
- Has anyone else faced any similar experience with ICICI?
- What's the best way to approach the PNO escalation to not just get an apology, but to actually get the card they promised?
- How would you handle the ongoing home loan discussion? I'm inclined to put it on complete hold.
TLDR: Applied for EPM and almost logged in my home loan application of more than 3 crores, but got misled and deceived by the RM and his team.
