Informing VTC News , Ms. Phung Thi Kim Thanh (residing in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City) said that she is a long-time loyal customer of SCB Bank.
In June 2021, when transacting at SCB Bay Hien and SCB Bau Cat branches, bank staff as well as Manulife staff advised her about the product "Tam An Dau Tu" - a joint product between SCB and Manulife.
When consulting, Ms. Thanh explained that she had already bought 2 life insurance packages so she had no need to buy more. However, the staff reassured her that Tam An Dau Tu product was a new product, similar to a 12-month savings deposit, not like traditional life insurance contracts before. The buyer only had to pay a very small fee to maintain the insurance contract and the rest was invested to make a profit.
Many people have come to the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department to report the incident. (Photo: D.V)
The staff explained to Ms. Thanh that the interest rate for savings book deposits in June 2021 is about 6.8%/year (12 months), the interest rate for 24-month deposit certificates is 7.05%/year (12 months). However, Tam An Dau Tu product commits to the lowest interest rate of up to 8.7%/year (12 months). This investment product only has a term of 5 years before the contract ends.
“ When the money is paid, a part of the money is kept in insurance and a part is kept for investment. The money kept in insurance cannot be withdrawn for 5 years. At the end of 5 years, the principal and interest will be fully returned. As for the money kept in investment, the lowest interest rate is committed to be 8.7%/year (12 months), the money kept in investment will be kept at a maximum of 10 times the amount kept in insurance. For example, if the money kept in insurance is 50 million VND, the money kept in investment is 500 million VND ,” Ms. Thanh wrote in the complaint.
According to Ms. Thanh, a consultant, customers who put more money in the insurance portion will be able to put more money into the investment portion and enjoy the benefit of the lowest interest rate commitment of 8.7%/year. If Manulife makes good profits, the interest rate will be higher than 8.7%/year, sometimes up to 11-14%.
For the investment portion, after 12 months, the customer will withdraw 8.7% interest and the principal will remain the same, and so on until the end of the 5-year contract. If the customer wants to withdraw the investment portion, after 12 months, they will be able to withdraw all the principal and 8.7% interest per year.
If participating in the Tam An Investment product, buyers will also receive insurance benefits such as: End-stage cancer insurance and death insurance up to 2 billion VND.
The buyer pays the full amount in the first year, and in the second year if they encounter financial difficulties, they only need to pay 7-10 million VND for insurance to maintain the contract.
“ I was never advised that the money I paid into the insurance section was used to pay for my life insurance. Both employees at the two branches of SCB Bay Hien and SCB Bau Cat gave the same advice. Because I trusted them, I did not have any suspicion of fraud and I agreed to buy this investment insurance product ,” said Ms. Thanh.
According to Ms. Thanh, in 2021 and 2022, she made multiple payments to the Tam An Investment product with a total value of 572 million VND. Of which, the investment payment was 512 million VND and the insurance payment was 60 million VND.
At the end of 2022, after the scandals at SCB bank, Ms. Thanh saw many people warning about "losing all" money when investing in Tam An Investment products, so she eagerly investigated the matter.
She was shocked when Manulife's customer service staff informed her that the money in her insurance section had been used to buy life insurance (as if it no longer existed), and the money in the investment section had been used to invest in fund certificates.
When Ms. Thanh asked “What is a fund certificate?”, the Manulife staff answered that it was a type of stock. Ms. Thanh also shared that she was paid 8.7% interest in the first year, the Manulife staff said that there was no interest payment, it was just money Ms. Thanh withdrew from her contract. This staff also said that Ms. Thanh’s contract had a term of 44 years, not 5 years as she thought.
At that time, Ms. Thanh realized that she had been misled by the consultant. Since purchasing the Tam An Dau Tu product, Ms. Thanh had lost about 168 million VND compared to the original amount (572 million VND).
Like Ms. Thanh, many other victims of Tam An Dau Tu products have sent a collective complaint to the Board of Directors of Ho Chi Minh City Police.
According to these people, most of them are loyal customers who deposit savings at SCB branches. They all believe that banks are places to keep money. However, SCB transaction staff and Manulife agents have swapped concepts, trapping customers with a consulting article.
Most of the consultants advised that the “Tam An Dau Tu” product is an investment savings package, not a life insurance package; The investment savings package comes with a Manulife life insurance contract; This investment savings package has the lowest interest rate of 8.7%, the longer the term, the higher the interest, up to 18% to 20%/year…
Customers who buy the product “Tam An Dau Tu” will save for 5-7 years, then withdraw all the principal and interest. Flexible withdrawal at any time, can withdraw money easier than normal savings. In the year when there is no money, can pay less…
“ With the above consultation, SCB transaction staff and Manulife insurance agents took advantage of our trust ,” the collective complaint stated.
Manulife Vietnam speaks out
Regarding the Tam An Investment product, a representative of Manulife Vietnam said that the unit has noted that some customers are not satisfied with the "Tam An Investment" product distributed through its partner, SCB Bank.
Manulife commits to closely coordinate with the authorities in handling customer requests, to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of customers as well as the company in accordance with the provisions of law and the rules and terms of the insurance contract that customers have signed with Manulife Vietnam Company.
“Manulife is very aware of customers’ concerns and is currently considering resolving customer requests seriously, fairly and satisfactorily. We will not tolerate any wrongdoing or fraud, and if we detect such behavior, we will immediately refer it to the relevant authorities for handling,” Manulife Vietnam stated.
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