Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
Individual and companies planning to collect loan from Union Bank should begin to have a change of heart and patronize other banks, as tales of tears has trailed a loan relationship deal with one of their faithful customers, court documents has proved.
A real estate development company, Coronation Real Estate Development Limited took a loan of N1.315 billion in April 2008 from the bank known for practicing archaic banking, to build shopping and office complex at Plot 3774 Cadastral zone, off Jimmy Carter road, Asokoro, Abuja.
To secure the loan, an agreement was reached between the bank and real estate Company to open an account with Union, with the loan to be repaid through the sale of forms and deposits for rentals, leases of the shops and offices.
According to court documents filed in Federal High Court, Lagos State by the aggrieved customer, the bank was to give out the loan in eleven installments. Against the agreement, Union Bank decided to give only N1.217 billion, which was given slowly, making the price of construction materials to rise and causing the company to run at great loss.
In October 2012, the company approached the bank to restructure the loan given, to enable them complete the building.
According to Coronation Real Estate Development Ltd, they have since repaid back the entire loan, but Union Bank continued to defraud them, by charging unnecessary high amount of money from their account, running into millions.
The company also claimed before the court that despite imposing arbitrary charges, excessive charges, penal charges and fees on the company’s facility account, assessment carried out on their account and property valuation revealed that they incurred loss of N4.1 billion, due to incomplete disbursement of the loans, delay in disbursement as well as excess charges on the loan, which has caused them to run at economic loss.
They appealed to the court in their second statement of claim to give judgment and cause Union Bank to pay them the sum of N4.1 billion for their loss as compensation.
