To say that Mashood Olojoku, an Ilorin-based businessman, was shocked when PalmPay told him that a N420,000 transaction he was disputing did not happen would be an understatement. He was worried.

July 8. That was when Olojoku noticed the strange transaction with the description “iLOTBET – order” on his PalmPay app. “Strange,” he thought, considering that he never authorised such a transaction on that day nor has he ever placed a bet.

Documents show that the the sum was debited around 1:20 pm on that day in July. Olojoku told EQ that he had logged on to his PalmPay mobile app that afternoon to confirm a transaction when he noticed this “heartrending debit” that took place without his consent.

A screenshot of the N420,000 transaction on his PalmPay app.

The businessman, who operates a Point of Sale (PoS) terminal with his PalmPay account, said that was his first time of encountering such a strange debit in his nearly 10 years of doing business.

He mentioned that the money belonged to an acquaintance who had entrusted it to him, as she did not want to hold such a large amount. It also served as a means to help her earn some profit from it.

“I was perplexed and baffled as I never initiated such a transaction. When I clicked on the transaction details to ascertain where and how the transaction occurred and printed the statement of the account, it showed that the money was used to bet on iLOTBET, a betting platform in the bank app,” Olojoku told EQ.

READ ALSO: Customer Lost N2.8m Kept in His Account to Fraudsters — ‘Because PalmPay Agents Were Busy’

“This is a thing I know nothing about. I’m not into bets. I don’t know how it works.

“I am an arthritis patient and since this incident occurred, it has worsened my condition because I have alot of debit on my neck and they’re threatening me.”

Olojoku said he visited PalmPay’s office in Offa Garage to complain about this unauthorised debit and was disappointed to learn that there was nothing they could do to trace or rectify it. Then they directed him to report to the headquarters in Lagos State.

Meanwhile, before going to the PalmPay office on the day the strange debit took place, he had called the customer service to lodge a complaint and also sent an email.

He had attached a screenshot of the fraudulent transaction alongside his email complaint. However, while replying two days later, PalmPay wrote the transaction date as June 8 instead of July 8.

PalmPay’s response on July 10.

His follow-up email to demand an explantion for the missing money.

EQ obtained two account statements which he requested and accessed on July 8 and July 10. While the first statement contains the debited N420,000, it was missing in the second statment of account.

READ ALSO: PoS Operator Does Not Know How N90,000 Kept in Her PalmPay Account Got to MozzartBet

Screenshot of the first account statement.

Screenshot of the second account statement.

On both occasions, the account statements covered the period from June to July 8. EQ carefully reviewed both documents and found that only the statement downloaded on the day of the incident contains the disputed transaction.

Following the incident and the suspicious circumstances surrounding the N420,000 debit, Olojoku employed the services of two lawyers who wrote letters on July 24 and 25, respectively, to demand a prompt resolution. But both letters did nothing to make PalmPay help this businessman trace and recover his missing N420,000.

Three months on, and despite numerous efforts, including making phone calls, sending emails, visiting the PalmPay office in Ilorin and even involving lawyers, Olojoku has been unable to recover the missing N420,000.

“I have not heard from them; they haven’t reached out to me at all concerning how to go about the money,” Olojoku told EQ.

EQ contacted PalmPay customer service six times on Tuesday via the number obtained on its website, but only three of those calls were answered by live agents.

During the first two calls, female agents disconnected the line just seconds after answering, not allowing EQ’s reporter to make an inquiry. On the third call, a male agent responded but ended the call midway through the conversation without offering any response.

EQ also sent a message on X as well as an email, copying three email addresses found on PalmPay website. While one of the email addresses bounced back because it was inactive, one sent an automated response:

Thank you for contacting PalmPay. We appreciate your interest in our company and we will do our best to provide a prompt response to your inquiry. Please note that this email address is dedicated solely to press inquiries. If you require customer support, please send your email to our support mailbox at [support@palmpay.com]. Our customer support team will be happy to assist you.

No response came from the third customer support email address. PalmPay was yet to respond on X at press time.
The post PalmPay Erases Strange N420,000 Debit From Ilorin Businessman’s Account Statement, Fails to Help Recover It appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.