Ya'll should know when you're dealing with a child!

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I just had this bank rep call me over a disputed charge. He wanted me to refund it right then and there. Usually, to do a refund for a fraudulent charge, the bank has the card holder fill out paperwork, sign it, and then they send that paperwork to us and sometimes to the police. In other words, it's all very official. This bank rep seemed very confused by this...I explained we needed the paperwork to refund the charge, and he said 'what paperwork is that?' Um, I don't know, that's something your bank is supposed to have a department to deal with!

So then he calls the customer and brings her on the line. She's got a big Arkansas drawl and a really bad attitude. We go over the info and apparently it's her 12 year old son who placed the order. She goes off on me. 'Ya'll should know when yer talkin to a 12 year old child! Don't you agree, Mr. Bank rep? I can't believe you'd accept a charge from a child. Y'all need to ask some questions or somethin, like asking fer a social or the name on the card. I'll pay it this time but if I find this charge again I'ma sue y'all ta kingdom come!'

I unfortunately snapped. I said back to her (kinda snarky) 'You'll file a lawsuit against us for not parenting your child?'

She got mad (of course) and said 'no, it's not about parentin! Y'all should know if yer talkin to a child! I'ma keep your name written down, and there better not EVER be anymore charges from y'all, or I'll sue your asses dammit!'

I finally managed to get her off the phone. If that call is monitored I'll get written up. oh well. I still think it was worth it.

ETA: just realized I posted this in the wrong forum. My bad. It's morning, I've been here for 12 hours, and well, I'm just a flake in general. mods, feel free to move and chastise me (gently!) for not paying attention.

[Rapscallion]

Moved!

Lovely come-back, by the way.

Rapscallion

[Hobgoblin]

Y'all should know what y'alls chil' is doing'.

[CancelMyService]

'Ya'll should know when yer talkin to a 12 year old child! Don't you agree, Mr. Bank rep? I can't believe you'd accept a charge from a child. Y'all need to ask some questions or somethin, like asking fer a social or thename on the card. I'll pay it this time but if I find this charge again I'ma sue y'all ta kingdom come!'

Arg. I hate the "try to get the rep to agree the company is wrong" types. At least she didn't try to hammer you with it like some callers I get tend to do.

Even if I (silently) agree that a policy is flawed, I'd never tell a SC that they're right in any way whatsoever. They don't need any encouragement.

[Boozy]

I have a question about this. If you dispute the charges on your credit card, and they find out who charged the card, does your credit card company not automatically press criminal charges? I thought this was why most parents don't dispute charges made by their children, they just pay up and hopefully supervise them better next time. Anyone know what the procedures would be in a case like that?

[CanadaGirl]

Boozy, I don't think (in Canada at least) you can press criminal charges on a minor.

[XCashier]

I know a woman with a high-pitched child-like voice.

She's over 40.

There are lots of adults with childlike voices, and some twelve-year-olds with adult-sounding voices (medium range, deep enough to fool anybody). You honestly cannot go by the sound of the voice on the phone. And if the order was placed via internet, that's even less to go on.

Great comeback, PG. This mother was way out of line, blaming you for what her child did. She should have scolded him, not you, then politely explained the situation to you and asked to have the charges reversed. Then again, this sounds like one of those head-in-the-sand parents whose Darling Precious Perfect Little Angel can do absolutely no wrong, it's the rest of the world's fault.

[Cia]

My SIL voice never cracked so she sounds like a 11 year old. Many times she's had salespeople ask to talk to her Mother.

[MCSledgehammer]

My voice is right on the edge of definite male/female pitch ranges (I sing low alto/high tenor), so I will occasionally get called "Sir" over the phone, depending on how early the call is. (I wake up with a smoker's hangover, where your voice is all gravelly and deep in the morning.) Ah well, I kinda like it. My ex used to describe it as a whiskey voice.
My exes mother, on the other hand, had an incredibly high-pitched babyish voice, and the speech patterns to match. This is the same woman who snuck off base in Germany to see Kiss in concert, after shattering a commanding officer's legs for raping a barracks-mate. Baby talk or not, I would NOT mess with that woman. She was crazy cool, though.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Boozy, here's the way it stands in the the US:

If you dispute a charge, the bank is required to notify the police and the card holder is encouraged to file a police report, especially if they know anything about who did it. Because of that, many banks will not dispute charges if it a close family member (like an underage child) and many merchants won't either (us included). Because if it's reported to police, they can (and will) file charges. Once you relate that it's a close family member, you don't get a refund, from us or from most banks. You'll be told to get it from the family member.

Mae: He added minutes to a prepaid cell phone.

[BusyBee]

I was mistaken for a homeowner, in person, when I was about 10. Seriously!
Meanwhile, my voice still sounds like maybe an 8-12 year old, depending on a few things, and I know it. When people call the house (usually telemarketers) about 3/4s of the time I get "Can I talk to your mum or dad?"
Voice is no way to tell someone's age, especially over a phone line. And even if you had a hundred questions like birth date, SS#, grandmother's maiden name, age that you stopped believing in Santa Claus, etc, someone determined enough will always be able to find all that stuff out.

I'm not even gonna let myself get started on parents that refuse to do any parenting

[Boozy]

Thanks for the explanation, PG!
I always wondered how a situation like that would be handled.

[Imogene]

"Oh, it's Heidi, I'm the card holder. I know I sound like a man."

Awesome. Great name, and the idea that she would have a deep voice makes me all squishy inside....

And outside, too.

[IT Grunt]

My wife's voice is the same way, if you listen to her on the phone, she sounds like she's only 12, when in reality she's over 30.

On the subject of verification, I have yet to have a company verify anything other than the card's number, expiration date, the name on the card, and sometimes the card's code from the back. Scary if you think about it, but still, how is the rep going to know, unless the card is reported stolen? I can order a pizza with my card, and that's all they ask for, if it goes through, I get my pizza. That lady was so far out of the ballpark, the umpire had to dial long distance to call foul. She needs to control her son better, not take out her lack of parenting skills on others.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I don't know if I have a childlike voice or a more adult sounding one . . . I've never really paid attention.

There was this one phone call from years ago (early 90's) while everyone was out of the house (Mom and her then hubby took my brother to some monster truck show) and I had the house to myself.

This guy called, asking for Mrs. Mom . . . I tell him she's not available. Then he asked for Mr. Stepdad . . . . I explain that he's not available either.

Then, he asks whom he's speaking with . . . I simply ignore the question (what difference did it make anyway) and asked for his name and number so I can give them a message to return his call.

Apparently this guy didn't get the hint - he then asked if I was the babysitter.

WTF?

So, I replied with "No. I'm one of the babies."

He muttered something about calling back later and hung up.

Give me a break. What difference does it make whom he's speaking with? Just leave a name and number already . . .

Sheesh . . .