Polaris Bank said it will appeal the ruling, meaning Mrs. Nwoko will have to wait for a while before executing the judgment
By Kehinde Okeowo
A Civil Servant and customer of Polaris Bank, Mrs. Idongesit Nwoko has been awarded N500,000 compensation by a Court as damages for a failed Point of Sales (POS) transaction.
Justice Bennett Ilaumo of the State High Court in Akwa Ibom State gave the judgment on Wednesday, 4th May 2022, for the bank’s failure to return the customer’s money within the 72-hour time frame required by law.
During the court hearing, Nwoko stated that she made a N61,000 POS withdrawal on December 24, 2021, but she was debited without payment.
According to Premium Times, the plaintiff claimed that she made several efforts, including numerous visits to a branch of the bank, but the debit was not reversed until after 28 days.
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Dissatisfied with the bank’s response to her complaint, the woman, through her lawyer, Utibe Nwoko, sought redress against Polaris Bank, asking for her money and other compensations.
Justice Ilaumo after considering the case presented and the defence by the bank’s lawyers ruled that the plaintiff should get N500,000 as compensation because the bank was negligent in the discharge of its duty to the customer.
Despite winning the lawsuit, Mrs. Nwoko may need to wait for a while to execute the judgment, as Polaris has announced it will appeal the ruling.
The bank’s lawyer, Mr. Ebuk contended that the plaintiff, in her prayers, sought the court to compel the restoration of her money, damages for her money that “was lost,” and the expense of legal action, even though the court cannot change a party’s pleadings in a suit.
He stated that the plaintiff did not request compensation for the delayed reversal that the court granted her.
He said: “The judgment was not the true position of the law. It wasn’t the terms of agreement. There was no hearing in that matter. Everything was totally against the rule of practice and the law.
“The plaintiff tried to withdraw money with a Polaris Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, but she did not go to Polaris Bank. She went to another bank’s POS. Going to another bank POS, that bank debited her account from Polaris bank but did not pay her.
“The law is if you come to Polaris Bank with its bank card it should be reversed immediately or within 24 hours, but when it has to do with a third party bank, you have to file an application before the money is reversed to the owner.
“The law allows for 16 days for the money to be reversed from the day the application was filed.
“The woman was debited on December 24, 2021, but she did not notify the bank until after the Christmas holidays about January 4, 2022. From the day she notified the bank we covered the period and returned her money within the 16 days in line with the law.”
