I wasn't able to go down to the branch, work came up. Thank you for the feedback; I may not go to the branch then as I am busy the next few days if odds are the trip is not going to achieve anything.
I did receive an email response from
atyourservice@cimb.com that said "In the event of non-receipt of activation code, please contact our hot-line indicated below and our customer service officers will be able to assist with your enquiry upon a simple phone verification." The email did not provide a hotline number. Instead it said "You may visit our official CIMB Singapore website for our banking hotline number or reply to this email."
My translation -- we are not going to write down our hotline because we don't want to be swamped with calls, but we have a hotline and you can call it.
The phrases "Non-receipt of activation code" and "assist with your enquiry" really p!&&ed me off because it seemed to imply the problem is incidental and perhaps even on the customer's end, rather than a failure of process on their end where it has been weeks and despite multiple calls/emails, accounts have not been activated. Rather than taking responsibility for not activating, they are trying to deflect responsibility to a customer for non receipt of the activation code. Act blur. How can anyone receive an activation code that was never sent! What enquiry are they talking about? It's their responsibility to open an account in a reasonable time -- they are a regulated bank and not some under-the-mango-tree vendor. I don't have an enquiry. I have a complaint, a grievance.
I am so sorry for ranting. I know there are folks who have been banking there for a while and I am glad they are happy with things. But I am posting in part because I want to dissuade anyone who may be considering signing up for the promised FD rate from signing up -- just don't do it. This is a Mickey Mouse operation on the account opening front.