Bank services and the elderly

A few days ago, I received a letter from Id-Dar tal-Providenza returning a cheque for €20 together with a note: “Cheques cannot be issued for amounts of €20 or less. Bank regulations.”

Sometimes, I also receive invoices for €20, so, under such circumstances, according to the “bank regulations” am I, at 85 years of age, expected to go round paying cash?

HSBC was expected to open more branches, instead it closed branches like the one at Msida and others.

What kind of service is this bank giving? Someone had stated when they were coming to Malta that HSBC is neither good for its customers nor for its employees. How true! Not to mention their excessive charges.

I trust action will be taken to safeguard the vulnerability of most senior citizens.

Carmel Gatt – Sliema

Slow to process refunds

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

On February 14, 2020, I booked a flight with Air Malta. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this flight was cancelled. Last year, in July, I confirmed with Air Malta that I would like a refund, namely of €274.33.

I was assured on October 4 that my refund would take place within 60 days.

These 60 days have now passed and I am still waiting for the refund. My voucher number is 6431500373349.

I have called Air Malta five times since the beginning of December and I was told that my refund will soon be sent.

I have also mailed them 11 times, to date.

The reply from the company is always the same: “We will check your refund status and will get back to you with a reply as soon as possible. Due to the large volume of requests, our response time might be longer than usual. We are handling requests in order of date received to minimise your waiting time.”

They really kept their word: “our response time might be longer than usual”.

What a joke of a company.

Joseph Cachia – St Paul’s Bay

Silence would mean consent

Pope Francis once said that “corruption is worse than a sin”. How is it then that, in a predominantly Christian country such as ours, not one Christian voice – Catholic, Evangelical or otherwise – has been heard to proclaim that, in voting for a clearly corrupt government, irrespective of the political party representing it, we have committed the collective sin of moral disengagement and we need to ask God for the gift of forgiveness for it?

Something has to be done even if it is simply symbolic. Otherwise, silence would mean consent.

Mario Pace – Victoria

PN’s fake election

If Bernard Grech remains the sole candidate for the PN leadership election, then this election can only be defined as a fake election of a fake leader. It will also prove that the PN has no one who has the courage and ambition to lead the party, let alone to lead our dear country.

Eddy Privitera – Mosta

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