The High Court has ordered Stanbic Bank to pay its customer Sh1 million in compensation for a failed transaction made after her ATM card showed that she had no money.
Justice Asenath Ongeri ruled that Victoria Mwongeli had proved her case as the bank went ahead to deduct Sh40,995 and failed to return the same for 24 days after her complaint.
The judge said Stanbic breached its end of the bargain.
“Judgment be and is hereby entered in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of Sh1 million plus costs and interest from the date of this judgment until payment in full,” said Justice Ongeri.
The case stems from a transaction that happened in 2010. Mwongeli said that on May 24, 2010, she presented her visa card at a Tusker Mattresses Limited (Tuskys), T-Mall branch, to pay for a fridge and its accessories. However, her card indicated that she had no money.
She said she tried several times to swipe but the results were the same. She argued that the failed transaction caused her shame, as other customers in the queue grew restless.
The court heard that the fridge had to be returned.
Despite the failed transaction, she said, Stanbic debited Sh40,995. She stated that the bank only returned the funds after 24 days of rigorous follow-ups.
