Who is the man who ‘protest voted’ Barclays as the worst bank?

A photo of a car whose rare windscreen had been covered with a banner protesting Barclays Bank – Uganda’s poor customer care has been making rounds on social media since Monday.

The banner on the Toyota Duet number UAT 360L read, “I vote Barclays Bank UG for Worst customer care service.”

The bank is in the process of rebranding to Absa.

The photo was taken by a hawkeyed road user who posted it on ‘Tried and Tested – Name and Shame.’

The bold move sent social media in overdrive, with most comments in support of the said gentleman, a customer of the bank for 30 years.

“Some people got no chill. How did he even come up with such?” asked Khadija Saleh.

Stephen Gumisisiriza wrote: “This is the language that Ugandans hear. Frequent treks to offices and dealings with customer care is useless.”

“The hard way is the only way,” Vickee Lubowa added.

“Now that is how you fix a broken system. Hit them where it hurts most. Heads must have rolled in the boardroom,” posted Mosh Ibrahim.

Indeed heads must have rolled because moments later, another picture of the customer, together with the Bank’s Chief Operations Officer Joseph Bagabo emerged.

It was accompanied by the caption:  “Yes, the bank has agreed to refund all the money they had taken off my account with an apology and handshake.”

We are yet to establish how much of the cutomer’s money had been taken off his account. But this wouldn’t be the first complaint against the bank in regards with tampered accounts.

In April, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said several clients with Barclays Bank, Ndeeba branch had recorded statements indicating that their accounts were tempered with.

The revelation followed news last week that a customer services specialist with Barclays Bank stole $50,000 (Shs187million) from an account belonging to MTN Uganda Chairman, Charles Mbire.

Attempts to get a comment from the bank’s communications department were futile.