Unmasking Deceptive Advertising: AU Small Finance Banks' SwipeUp Program and Its Impact on Credit Reports

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As I said earlier, it is a big black hole. That chap doesn't even acknowledge. Leave alone trying to resolve. He doesn't even pretend to be doing so.

Yes. That's true. I'm just trying to make sure we're going up the hierarchy properly and building up the history.

The last one is MD itself and if he too doesn't respond, then it would make it very clear how this bank is, def. not customer-centric and doesn't listen to customers' problems despite adopting FPC for namesake and it would be a stupid move by the customers to trust this bank going forward.

 

[Sahilhenzy]

I appreciate your hard work and patience. Wishing you all the best ❤️ my friend.

 

[ray8285]

Yet to complete a single AU credit card application. Indeed Lucky are those who have managed to !

Every time I try to apply there's a glitch at some stage in the application & gives the error "unable to process application due to technical glitch". Then It is a story of constant battle with some of the laziest people I have seen, which is also known as AU customer care to get them to delete the lead id (otherwise the application with that lead id remains stuck at the same place even after 7-8 months) only for the new application with a new lead id to face the same glitch at some other stage of the application.

I have lost this battle & finally hung up my boots ! Cowboys at AU Cust care won hands down ! Trying to get them to solve a problem is like moving bulldozer with bare hands !!😰

 

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Yet to complete a single AU credit card application. Indeed Lucky are those who have managed to !

Every time I try to apply there's a glitch at some stage in the application & gives the error "unable to process application due to technical glitch". Then It is a story of constant battle with some of the laziest people I have seen, which is also known as AU customer care to get them to delete the lead id (otherwise the application with that lead id remains stuck at the same place even after 7-8 months) only for the new application with a new lead id to face the same glitch at some other stage of the application.

I have lost this battle & finally hung up my boots ! Cowboys at AU Cust care won hands down ! Trying to get them to solve a problem is like moving bulldozer with bare hands !!😰

Escalate to MD. They're casually damaging the credit reports of prospective customers yet won't fix their own technical glitch and when I pointed out, they're brushing this away stating it's a feature not a bug...typical way to shut the case...lol.

I've escalated to the VP at this point and he did respond asking for my contact. Waiting for him to reach out.

I wish there was some way for me to show them the proof that there are n number of people having same issue and it needs to be addressed not ignored like the CC does. Some kinda petition or something. Most people just let go and ignore it from what I've observed which is why these kinda organizations are not held accountable and continue to do whatever is in their best interest and not really care about the customer.

I'm still determined, not letting this go. RBI has kinda ghosted too. My last escalation will be to their MD before I conclude this bank as hopeless and scum and nothing beyond (Unless one of them does take this seriously).

 

[ray8285]

Escalate to MD. They're casually damaging the credit reports of prospective customers yet won't fix their own technical glitch and when I pointed out, they're brushing this away stating it's a feature not a bug...typical way to shut the case...lol.

I somehow feel that will be easting some more time behind these idiots. They have one stereotypical answer "you application was declined & you will get the option to apply when you become eligible". Seems like everyone in this organisation believe in the Copy + Paste concept. These AU morons do not even read the emails, to figure out a simple thing, that how how can an application get declined when it is NOT even complete (Before any of you jump into conclusion, my pincode is serviceable for CC issuance).

I wish there was some way for me to show them the proof that there are n number of people having same issue and it needs to be addressed not ignored like the CC does. Some kinda petition or something. Most people just let go and ignore it from what I've observed which is why these kinda organizations are not held accountable and continue to do whatever is in their best interest and not really care about the customer.

Seems like with with more & more people becoming credit aware in India, these banks are hitting their internal targets & do not care much. I have been reading innumerable posts with people facing application glitches with IDFC & AU especially. Seems like they are just not as aggressive or has a lower risk threshold compared to

RBI has kinda ghosted too.

RBI ombudsman has become useless off late. May be they are over worked with the volume of complaints pouring in due to these malpractices. ABFL did 100 hard enquiries in my EXPERIAN bureau report & after months of emails to ABFL which they ignored, I escalated to the RBI ombudsman & guess what .... They ignored RBI too, making a false pretence that the data has been removed and that they have done me favour. Neither those 100 enquiries have been removed yet nor they are responding any more. RBI has closed the case.

I am planning on escalating this again , I mean 100 hard enquiries !!! Total sham & complete failure on RBI's end to curb these malpractices by bringing in stricter rules.

 

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Update:

Since 22 Sep, 2023 I've been trying to follow up with their VP Credit Card Marketing. While initially he requested for the contact and upon responding, he has since ghosted too just like the typical AU SFB practices of ghosting and ignoring.

Despite multiple follow-up emails trying to get a response, he chose to ignore too which is simply a reflection of how this bank operates and the support channels ignoring is simply a training given by the management itself which is now very much clear.

I shall finally escalate this to their MD and see how he handles this matter.

 

[RAMESH BABU N]

Share the numbers of this guy n others - we too shall disturb him/them with more data.

 

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Share the numbers of this guy n others - we too shall disturb him/them with more data.

Kumar Gaurav Saxena, VP Credit Card Marketing - kumar.saxena@aubank.in
Sanjay Agarwal, MD/CEO - sanjay@aubank.in

So after my last email telling him that I'm gonna escalate this to their MD since he chose to ignore, this is what he responded with.

This shameless bank continues to avoid acknowledging the issues and the namesake adoption of FPC is proven to be namesake.

This should be very concerning to anyone dealing with this bank, imagine someone who has any financial transactions with this bank and their response is either copy-paste or ignorance and continue to neglect it fully and it's not just the level 1 support we're talking about. It's from Level 1 all the way up to their management. They had a chance to handle this case better but chose to continue to neglect it.

 

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Wow! They got Twitter/X to suspend my account and get me banned on Reddit where the same post was shared. If this isn't enough proof of this bank's malicious practices, then nothing is. You can check the Twitter links, they'll show it as suspended.

They're trying the same Byjus path to shut the case by getting accounts banned to conceal the information.

 

[Lobogris]

Even though it is good to stand up for your rights and I would do the same, I fail to see what is the issue here? Whenever you apply for a card or even try to check eligibility, it is well known that the bank will check your credit status. How else would they kbow whether to offer a card and which one and with what limit? AU is a relatively new entrant to CC and they might have overlooked placing a warning about this. Nevertheless, we all know that applying for a CC will lead to an enquiry. I think you are needlessly fighting this.

 

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Even though it is good to stand up for your rights and I would do the same, I fail to see what is the issue here? Whenever you apply for a card or even try to check eligibility, it is well known that the bank will check your credit status. How else would they kbow whether to offer a card and which one and with what limit? AU is a relatively new entrant to CC and they might have overlooked placing a warning about this. Nevertheless, we all know that applying for a CC will lead to an enquiry. I think you are needlessly fighting this.

Good points raised and I totally agree with that, provided I'm aware of the fact that I'm applying for the credit card and that's what I've clearly mentioned in my OP, Blog post, social media threads, etc.

This is where the problem is. SwipeUp program unfortunately DOES NOT explicitly say ANYWHERE in their landing page, terms and condition, FAQs, etc. that we are applying for a credit card or a credit bureau enquiry will be made.

Instead, they go on to advertise 3 simple step process based on which they say they will recommend and later you can choose to apply. That is where the problem is.

What are those 3 steps?

• 1. Enter the first 6 digits of your other Bank’s Credit Card
• 2. Select the name of the Credit Card variant
• 3. Compare your card with SwipeUp platform recommendation and apply

Now if we go by their landing page, FAQs, Terms, etc. it is being understood that they want us to give our 6 digits of our other bank's credit card using which they can present their offering based on which you can decide to apply or not.

In fact, if you enter your mobile number on their landing page, they say "Looks like you’re not part of the SwipeUp program yet." even at this point, they talk about you not being part of their program and hence, ask you to apply. Again, they are not saying apply for the card but apply for the program. This is a wordplay and clear manipulation.

...Now when we actually go on applying for their SwipeUp program after reading their terms and thinking you'd be asked to enter the 6 digits of other bank's credit card number, it doesn't ask at all. It's a technical glitch which they continue to deliberately ignore acknowledging despite their own support team mentioning and what does it lead to? A hard enquiry and a normal credit card application without even applying for it and then offer an entry level card as LTF and other premium cards as chargeable. When you question them, they cite the application came in as normal application and not swipeUp program and ask you to re-apply which leads to further damage of your credit report which the bank doesn't care about.

If we compare this with any other banks which also have similar recommendation systems, let's take IDFC for example, they too have compare feature which is simple and straight forward without damage to your credit report. You can choose your other bank card and their cards, compare the offerings between the both and apply or leave.

Similarly there's OneCard, which does soft enquiry and tell you whether you are eligible or not. There are many such banks/neobanks/startups that offer comparison and make things clear whether you are applying for a card or not and whether you are eligible or not from the beginning. This bank on the other hand continues to mislead in the name of comparing, capturing data, and then creating a trap after damaging the credit report without even applying for a card YET because you are still in evaluation phase but they chose to damage your report and now if you don't take their chargeable card or an entry level card, it is your loss regardless.

 

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I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually get booted from this community or this thread is taken down in near future. I won't blame TF founder/team if a legal notice demands them to do so but if that ever happens like with Twitter/Reddit, that should be enough for y'all to know how this bank is.

Also, for anyone thinking the bank is right, if that was the case, why would they get accounts suspended in multiple social media platforms? Don't you see what's happening. Why is the bank concerned with posts on social media? What are they trying to hide? if they were on the right path doing ethical stuff, they did not have to censor me. This is a wake up call.

 

[vaaiibhav]

Wow! They got Twitter/X to suspend my account and get me banned on Reddit where the same post was shared. If this isn't enough proof of this bank's malicious practices, then nothing is. You can check the Twitter links, they'll show it as suspended.

They're trying the same Byjus path to shut the case by getting accounts banned to conceal the information.

Bravo for standing up against these mal-practices. I definitely feel, there is a larger consumer good you are doing by fighting them. More power to you. I will be sharing this amongst my friends and family for greater awareness.

Let us know, if we can be of more help. Thanks

 

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Bravo for standing up against these mal-practices. I definitely feel, there is a larger consumer good you are doing by fighting them. More power to you. I will be sharing this amongst my friends and family for greater awareness.

Let us know, if we can be of more help. Thanks

Thank you. Appreciate the kind words and support.

If possible, please go ahead and reach out to their MD/VP and express and echo about the issues I've raised. A simple email will definitely help everyone. If many of us reach out, they eventually have to acknowledge the issue and rectify it. If we go silent, they'll continue as is. We need to raise our voice too. Make them understand we don't appreciate malpractices and if any of you have been impacted by this, then it's even more important for you to engage in this.

In addition, if you're on social media like Reddit or Twitter/LinkedIn, please share the Medium post and tag the bank to address it. Now that they've gotten me banned, how many more accounts will they ban and try to censor this issue if everyone starts demanding them to acknowledge?

Medium post: https://medium.com/@smartsave/unmas...program-and-its-impact-on-credit-be938306b61d

If email is not your thing, it's understandable, just at least go ahead and share the above Medium post on social media and tag them.

 

[SmartSave]

Got a call once again from the escalations repeating the same BS and trying to avoid everything.

The guy doesn't want to answer my Qs nor listen to me. Just says you gave consent but when I ask him to explain the program and at what point first 6 digits would be asked, he avoids the question. Also, avoided questions regarding the terms of SwipeUp program.

The same crap of trying to make me tell over the phone that I gave them consent on a recorded line to submit to B.O. and he says they've submitted already (as of today the status in RBI Portal remains the same) and last time the other guy who called from escalations also said the same crap and they've submitted and tried hard to get me to tell over the phone I gave consent. At this point it seems like they're trying to make me tell over the call I gave them consent so they can misuse it.

They're trying hard to shut this case.

 

[AlgoTrader]

crossed the limit

 

[LordSupreme Aloo]

This is totally wrong, thanks for putting this up.

I am not sure if this deceptions is going to be the next industry trend. I had a similar experience with ICICI. On their NetBanking portal when I am logged in, they have an Apply link for cc, which takes you through the whole application process without even conveying which cc they have even probability to provide us with. They keep asking little things and makes you feel like they will show the cc options just in next step. But they hit cibil, does aadhaar authenticate take all details which includes salary via bank account import (not just an entry from my side).

And I am sure there was no approval given from my side for cibil hit, unless hidden in some link.

I already have 2 ICICI CCs, I just wanted to see what cc they might provide and I expected something similar to axis / hdfc or others where they give you options of ccs before putting you into the real application process.
Is this going to be the new Trend.

Exact same thing happened to me exactly after 1 month of your post, I didn't even got to fill my whole form, ICICI skipped to "Sorry, we don't have.. Blah. Blah....." (I got my first card from ICICI in July this year,)

Hits CIBIL...!

& AU swipe up is joke,
They rejected due to unserviceable pin code fetched from aadhar,
But hits CIBIL first for eligibility,
Pin code check must be done beforehand so that an enquiry doesn't gets wasted worthlessly (even though it's a C2C program, CIBIL enquiry is mandatory but it falls hard down to ground beating it's own purpose)

 

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Update: We're now in a loop of copy-paste game between me and the support.

They copy-paste the same message in all replies. I'm copy-pasting my same reply to them. The result is a loop of new tickets and they're obliged to answer them all. The day they stop answering is the day they're violating RBI rules for not providing support, violations of FPC and poor customer support.

Will it benefit? Indirectly yes. Waste of their time to discuss the matter (since it's being assigned to a random staff) with seniors to understand how to respond and then reply.

As for me, I might just put this through some automation if I want to continue this loop, will think about this later. Might as well cc PNO and others in these loops, let their inbox also become answerable.

 

[LordSupreme Aloo]

Update: We're now in a loop of copy-paste game between me and the support.

They copy-paste the same message in all replies. I'm copy-pasting my same reply to them. The result is a loop of new tickets and they're obliged to answer them all. The day they stop answering is the day they're violating RBI rules for not providing support, violations of FPC and poor customer support.

Will it benefit? Indirectly yes. Waste of their time to discuss the matter (since it's being assigned to a random staff) with seniors to understand how to respond and then reply.

As for me, I might just put this through some automation if I want to continue this loop, will think about this later. Might as well cc PNO and others in these loops, let their inbox also become answerable.

The time has arrived to test the server optimizations done for the D-day load & let the cc's, bc's character box be utilized upto its full capacity.

 

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The time has arrived to test the server optimizations done for the D-day load & let the cc's, bc's character box be utilized upto its full capacity.

They seem to have failed already. Last reply on Monday.

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Update: Trying to get some investigative journalists to look into this.

Have connected with a group. Their attention and publication has already caused RBI to suspend BoB recently, if they pick this story, AU SFB will have no way to hide anymore.

Fight is still ON since Aug. It's been more than 45 days already. Still didn't give up. 💪