It has been a week from hell and it is only Tuesday. There is no possible way I am going to manage to navigate my way to Friday because the road is infested with stupid people.
First on my list is good 'ol Bank of America. Yes, I know we should switch banks and not be subject to the horrors of this conglomerate of stupidity, but we have banked with them for so long, have so many accounts with them, so many direct pays and auto pays that the thought of switching is twitch enducingly frightening. That being said I might have found my motivation to do it in the last 24 hours.
About 2 1/2 weeks ago they contacted my husband and told him they suspected fraudulent activity on his ATM card. OK, thanks for being on the ball and letting us know and canceling the card. Unfortunatly, there was a little mix up in reissuing a new card. See, the person that called my husband made a few crucial mistakes. One, they assumed that he had even a basic knowledge of our accounts and two, they assumed that we still resided in the state we opened our accounts in. The first one should have been realized within the first two minutes of the conversation because I know my husband and he would of told anyone he spoke to to contact me. The second could have been avoided if they just took a second to look at the address of record on the account. Instead, they told my husband to go into a banking center and get a new card. Big mistake, huge, enormous mistake!
Unfortunatly, BofA California, where we live, does not talk to BofA for the rest of the country, which is where we opened these accounts. They are on totally different computer, operating and management systems and can not even share information. At least, this is what I have been told numerous times by BofA employees. So in order for my husband to go to a banking center and obtain a new card we would have to travel to another state! Why in the hell would you tell someone to go to a banking center where they live knowing full well that that banking center cant do jack crap for you!
Now fast forward two weeks later and countless nights of him borrowing my card to get gas, food and other things one normally needs during an average week. We are patiently waiting for the card, but the patient level is dwindling fast. Knowing that my husband doesn't have the time nor the desire to try to navigate the endless voicemail hell that a BofA customer service call would entail, the phone call is bounced to my court. Really, no problem and I am happy to do it. They canceled it and I just need to tell him he never got a replacement card and he can't go to a banking center and they will reissue another one. How hard can it be to request a replacement card for one they canceled to the name and address of record? Let me tell you...IT IS A NIGHTMARE!
I spent 45 minutes yesterday arguing with Rosie that this is a simple request and I would like it to be done. She argued with me that they had to talk to him to verify his identity. Seriously, what do you want to know because I have it all. Date of Birth? Social Security Number? Mother's maiden name? Blood Type? I know all this crap better than he does! I have been the office manager of our Family, Inc. operation for what seems like forever. Rosie wouldn't budge, so I asked to speak to someone that could approve my request and I was transferred to a voice mail! I left my terse message with very clear instructions, don't call me back unless you are going to tell me the card is on its way.
Well, they called back and they not only didn't tell me it was on the way but now I got to argue with someone new all over again. This time I only wasted 10 minutes before asking for a supervior and I was told she was it. So I called bullshit. Unless you are the Chairman of the Board for BofA you have a fricking boss and I want to speak to them. She refused but continued to tell me she understood my frustration and the reasons I was upset. If she understood so well then why couldn't she just hit the damn button to reissue the card. She didn't understand anything and I told her so and added to her vast understanding that if she told me she understood again she was going to really make me angry. I think I put the fear of God into her with that statement because I was already well off my rocker and sliding rapidly down a slippery slope of off the charts hysterics.
Ok, so I changed tactics. I asked her what their policy was when they suspected fradulent activity.
Me: "When an ATM Card is suspected of fraud do you reissue another card?"
Her: "Usually, Yes"
Me: "And you didn't in this case"
Her: "No"
Me: "So, how about you issue one now"
Her: "I can't do that without speaking to your husband"
Me: "Do you call the customer before or after you suspend the card?"
Her: "After"
Me: "So you can cancel the account without speaking to the customer but you can't reissue the card without speaking to them"
Her: "That is correct"
Me: "Does that make any logical sense?"
Her: "No, but I don't know the circumstances regarding the cancelation of your card, that would be our ATM department"
Me: "Well, maybe we should talk to someone there that can clear this up for both of us"
And that is where Crystal came in. Within 3 minutes Crystal reviewed the account, verified that they indeed made an error and would reissue the card and send it out FedEx within 2 business days.
REALLY? All that and the solution was from a customer service representative in their ATM department. I had talked to the highest supervisor and she couldn't make it happen, but Crystal, the everyday customer service rep could. I think Crystal needs a raise and a promotion over Rosie and all of her superviors because they are dumb as dirt but Crystal obviously understands the basic business principal we were all raised on. THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
Now with the Bank of America situation under control I am off to conquer the State of California...more on that little fiasco later!
