Inspirational leadership
This is a great gesture on the part of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, towards the Emirati female rescue worker ("Emirati grandmother breaks social barriers with job choice", Gulf News, April 1).
Such acts encourage people to carry on helping others and do their duty with more dedication.
Additionally, this serves as an inspiration to other Emiratis as well as expatriates.
From Mr Rajan Rao
Abu Dhabi
Time well spent
I had different reasons for taking part in the Earth Hour. That precious one-hour was welcome for its silence, without the television or the jarring music system in the background.
It was a surprise the breadwinner turned off his system, and not put it on standby, and lent his ear to our little daughter.
She was even more amazed for not receiving a monosyllable answer from her dad for the first time ever.
I didn't compromise on any of my evening chores - everything happened, albeit a bit differently.
It reminded me of my childhood days when the surprise power cuts back home would make us all stay in one room and exchange thrilling stories in the dark. I wish we had this special one hour every month.
From Ms M. Hamsavardhini
Abu Dhabi
No child's play
Gulf News has several sections. Let the first page of each carry the traffic violations, fines and black points list.
This would help alert drivers that breaking rules is no child's play. Unfortunately, the Letters to the Editor section is treated as a one-time read and no matter how seriously Gulf News addresses a subject, it is forgotten by the reader after a while.
If put into practice the aforementioned idea could be a daily reminder for errant motorists.
From Ms Sonia Kumar
Dubai
Tiny contribution
I would just like to thank Gulf News for highlighting my campaign (to save camels) in the newspaper. I hope that I will continue to receive the support extended by people.
This is just my small contribution in creating awareness about the harmful effects of littering.
From Mr Cameron Oliver
Abu Dhabi
Role reversal
This is in reference to the letter from the mother whose child with special needs is doing well ("Made a difference", Gulf News, April 1). My case is different from hers.
My daughter is going back to school and joining the second grade. However she still finds it difficult to read words despite studying in the same school for the past three years.
On the day of the open house or parent-teacher meeting, her teacher asked me to take additional care of my daughter. I think it should have been the other way round.
From Mr N. S. Masoud
Dubai
Misguided
Three years ago, I invested in a Citibank Zurich Investplus policy. The agent convinced me that if I wished to discontinue the policy after completing three years, I would get my total contributed sum along with the fund growth, as the amount gets blocked for the first two years of the payments.
Later, since I wasn't receiving my statement of account, I tried calling the banking officer I was dealing with several times but with no luck.
I contacted the call centre and personally visited the Bur Dubai branch, but none of the managers was available for a meeting.
When I was about to complete three years, I decided to withdraw and invest the lump sum amount of $18,000 (Dh66,101).
I spoke to another officer who verbally confirmed the same. However, he later gave me the shocking news that my fund amount had fallen to $4,400 (Dh16,158), which was the surrender value.
I still have not got a direct report from Citibank. If only they had updated me on the policy by sending the statement of account and my fund value, I would have discontinued much earlier and not lost the huge amount of hard-earned money.
Moreover, Citibank has also withdrawn premiums from my account for September and October 2007, despite communicating verbally and in writing that I would like to discontinue.
From Ms Sennen Rodrigues
UAE
The management of Citibank replies:
Subsequent to Ms Rodrigues' communication with Gulf News, a response was sent to her in writing based on documents that were presented to her and signed by her at the time of purchasing the policy, including the illustration and her contributions to an insurance benefits plan along with the tenure of the plan.
She was met by representatives from Citibank on November 5, 2007 where she expressed her inclination to reduce her premium and decrease her life insurance.
Our Wealth Management Head visited her on February 24, 2008 after the complaint to resolve the issue. She has accepted signing the documents on September 21, 2004, which clearly endorsed her decision of purchase and acceptance of the associated terms and conditions.
It is our policy to provide a 30-day look-in period from the time of issuance of the plan during which the customer has the right to cancel or proceed. Ms Rodrigues could have rejected or objected to the terms and conditions during this 30-day grace period.
We therefore regret that we are unable to refund any premiums as requested by her.
