Tweet
Shoddy Programming
I think I've mentioned the issues we've had with our new loan and deposit software before. I could almost do an epic thread about all the crap we've gone through with it.
Quick recap: The software company decided to phase out their old software and move to a web-based platform. We were originally supposed to start using the software in February, but they pushed it back multiple times as they hunted down bugs and released multiple patches. The main branch, in Wisconsin, finally started using the software in May, but the Minnesota module wasn't ready. Each month, they would push the release date back and extend the license for the old software another month (even though they discontinued support for the old software). Finally, now in September, the MN module is supposed to be ready.
Almost every day, we're emailing them about bugs we've found. Last week, it wasn't checking either of the boxes for prepayment penalties on loans. The late charge wasn't printing correctly, then it was correct on one document but incorrect on another document, then they finally got it fixed this week.
The documents the software creates are pdfs. Which would be fine, except - due to what I consider lazy programming, they named fields the same thing on different documents. So if you load all the documents as a single pdf, the information in one field copies into fields named the same thing on other documents. The only way to work around this is to load each document individually, then print it, adding significant amounts of time to the account opening process. They've been working on this, so it's less of an issue now than a month ago, but I still see this happening on a few forms.
But let's get what prompted me to post today. It's so stupid, I can't even fathom it. I did a loan secured by a vehicle the other day. When I got to the documents, I saw that the Grant of Security Interest (so we can put our lien on the vehicle) was missing. This is a critical document for an auto loan, so I was confused how it could be missing.
I looked in the blank documents on their website. Oh - that's another thing. Pulling up blank documents in the software is almost impossible. Even where you're supposed to be able to do it, there's always some information filled in already, like the bank's name and address. So they made up blank fillable pdfs of the documents and put them on their secure website. So, I looked for the grant form, and it wasn't there, either.
I emailed the employee at the software company. She said the grant form should be at the bottom of the list of forms. I looked again. Nothing. I asked if there was a checkbox I might have missed. She said that when I type in the state under the collateral location, that is the trigger for it to choose the correct state's grant form.
I looked for this in the software. It's on there, yes. Halfway down the screen. It's labeled "collateral location, if different than the customer's address." Why would I think to fill that in? The software doesn't highlight that the state needs to be filled in to get a grant form. It doesn't pop up a warning that it needs to be filled in before you continue to the next screen (like it does for other fields). I even looked at the documentation. Yes, it does mention that "the state field triggers the appearance of the grant form corresponding to the state entered." But it's not highlighted that it must be completed, and just above, it says that the collateral location only needs to be completed if it's different than the customer's address. It's something that's well hidden and easy to miss.
I finally got the grant form to come up, but I'm not done complaining. The grant checkbox wasn't checked, nor was the date of the security agreement (another document the software prepares) filled in.
So I emailed all these things to the employee at the software company. Hopefully, they'll add them to their to-do list. Heh.
(I haven't even gotten into the issues with the user interface.)
Quick recap: The software company decided to phase out their old software and move to a web-based platform. We were originally supposed to start using the software in February, but they pushed it back multiple times as they hunted down bugs and released multiple patches. The main branch, in Wisconsin, finally started using the software in May, but the Minnesota module wasn't ready. Each month, they would push the release date back and extend the license for the old software another month (even though they discontinued support for the old software). Finally, now in September, the MN module is supposed to be ready.
Almost every day, we're emailing them about bugs we've found. Last week, it wasn't checking either of the boxes for prepayment penalties on loans. The late charge wasn't printing correctly, then it was correct on one document but incorrect on another document, then they finally got it fixed this week.
The documents the software creates are pdfs. Which would be fine, except - due to what I consider lazy programming, they named fields the same thing on different documents. So if you load all the documents as a single pdf, the information in one field copies into fields named the same thing on other documents. The only way to work around this is to load each document individually, then print it, adding significant amounts of time to the account opening process. They've been working on this, so it's less of an issue now than a month ago, but I still see this happening on a few forms.
But let's get what prompted me to post today. It's so stupid, I can't even fathom it. I did a loan secured by a vehicle the other day. When I got to the documents, I saw that the Grant of Security Interest (so we can put our lien on the vehicle) was missing. This is a critical document for an auto loan, so I was confused how it could be missing.
I looked in the blank documents on their website. Oh - that's another thing. Pulling up blank documents in the software is almost impossible. Even where you're supposed to be able to do it, there's always some information filled in already, like the bank's name and address. So they made up blank fillable pdfs of the documents and put them on their secure website. So, I looked for the grant form, and it wasn't there, either.
I emailed the employee at the software company. She said the grant form should be at the bottom of the list of forms. I looked again. Nothing. I asked if there was a checkbox I might have missed. She said that when I type in the state under the collateral location, that is the trigger for it to choose the correct state's grant form.
I looked for this in the software. It's on there, yes. Halfway down the screen. It's labeled "collateral location, if different than the customer's address." Why would I think to fill that in? The software doesn't highlight that the state needs to be filled in to get a grant form. It doesn't pop up a warning that it needs to be filled in before you continue to the next screen (like it does for other fields). I even looked at the documentation. Yes, it does mention that "the state field triggers the appearance of the grant form corresponding to the state entered." But it's not highlighted that it must be completed, and just above, it says that the collateral location only needs to be completed if it's different than the customer's address. It's something that's well hidden and easy to miss.
I finally got the grant form to come up, but I'm not done complaining. The grant checkbox wasn't checked, nor was the date of the security agreement (another document the software prepares) filled in.
So I emailed all these things to the employee at the software company. Hopefully, they'll add them to their to-do list. Heh.
(I haven't even gotten into the issues with the user interface.)
Did the programmers even consult anyone who ever worked in a bank?
Comment