Is it really so hard? ((LONG!))

[Enigma]

I can't believe my bank. I mean seriously, I am known to have a remarkable talent for understanding and working with employees of companies who have screwed me. I mean hey, I work in Customer Services, and used to work in a call center. I know how it goes. But this is getting ridiculous.

It started two weeks ago. I went into my bank to deposit my check, to find out that I cannot take any money out, because I am over drawn. After a little digging I find out that I have been charged two 10$ fines in returned statement fees, which in my current situation put me under by 10$. I talked to the manager who was extremly helpful, because ironically, the other reason I was at my bank was because I had yet to recieve my debit cards for myself and my finace. We don't know what went wrong, but the bank has had all the correct information, and it was decided that the error was not my fault. The manager graciously reversed the fees and got on the phone with a call center to order new debit cards.

Well last week I go in once more to pull some money, and once again I am surpised to learn I have aquired 10$ more in fees. This time it's two 5$ fees for a "lost/stolen" card. Once again I talk to the manager, only this time to learn that for some reason they cannot correct this fee, and I need to call the call centers myself. Frustrated, I take the number and make the phone call. The operator on the other line was extremly pleasent, until she learned why I was calling in. I let this pass however, considering I know how it goes, and I know that there are some calls that seem to repeat everyday, and you know it's going to be a bad call. However the operator sould have been bright enough to understand that this was not a lost or stolen card (as I told her) and it was her bank's fault. After 30 minutes of haggling she told me that I needed to wait until I recieved the cards and activated them before I could do anything. Fine, okay. Her explanation didn't make much sense, but okay.

A week later with debit cards happily in hand, I make my second phone call, this time getting a representitive who just assumed he knew what was going on:

CSR: Thank you for validating you're information Ms. Enigma, now whats going here.
ME: *explains story*
CSR: Well I do apologize Ms. Enigma and we can reverse those fees for you today.
ME: Finally!
CSR: Unfortunatly I do have to inform you that those fees are valid and in the future if you ever have a lost or stolen card...
ME: Back up there skippy, this wasn't my fault. This was you're company's fault.
CSR: *sounding amused* I'm sorry M'am, but how was this my company's fault?
ME: You had the incorrect infomation. I never receieved my cards to begin with?
CSR: *sounding confused* I'm sorry, what?
ME: *explains story again, conversation repeats about three times before I finally ask for a supervisor*

Well the CSR comes back a few minutes later informing me that the supervisor is reviewing my account, and will call me back by tomorrow. Small problem, I need the money by tomorrow morning. At this point that 10 dollars you have taken from me is the last of my gas money, and I'm sorry bucko but I work in Retail, and right now it's paycheck to paycheck. The CSR gets snotty and I decide to ask for his extension, to which he gets offended.

ME: Thank you for what you've done CSR, do you happen to have an extension or an operator ID I can write down for my records?
CSR: *flabbergasted and annoyed* Well you know what m'am, I don't care I can give you it but I have done everything I could have done for you, so you can have it if you want- ext: 12345
ME: *seeing red, but taking on my patient voice* Thank you CSR, I was actually asking for your extension for my records so I can refer back to what you have helped me with if I need to in the future.
CSR: Oh...
ME: And by the way, I've worked in a call center before, and I know how it works, I suggest you get you're head out of you're ass and start doing you're job because you sir are the reason that CSR's are given such a bad name. *click*

Infuriated I figure he's not going to do jack shit to help me, so I immediatly call back. This time the CSR sounds promising. I repeat my story and this time I have an agent that is not only intelligent enough to understand but is very polite and remarks that he's surpised I'm so calm and nice after whats been going on. I thank him and he puts me on hold for a while, serving as liason between myself and his supervisor, finally he expalins that why I have activated my card, it is not yet shown as active in their accounts, and there is a process that takes up to 24 hours. He assures me I should see the money in my account by Saturday at midnight and that I do not need to call again to be sure. I understand that there are processes and accept his answer, deciding that tomorrow (saturday) I can make it to work and back with my gas light on.

Saturday night I make it home and call the company to be sure, they assure me that I will see it at midnight. I go to sleep, making sure to set my alarm two hours early, so if it's not in my account, I can call in as soon as they open, so I may have the gas to get to work. Sunday morning comes and guess what? No money. I check my clock to be sure it says that it is, infact 8 am. It is in fact, 10 minutes after the fact. I decide to call again. The automated voice on the other line informs me I need to call between 8am and 6pm my local time, on saturdays and sundays.

I check again, and call back. Once again the voice informs me I cannot tell time. Frustrated it takes me 40 minutes, and three different numbers found on their website before I get someone.

CSR 1 informs me they can't be reversed.
CSR 2 advises me their supervisor will have it done in five minutes.

Ten minutes later and no money. I now have to be in work in an hour and a half. I call again, asking the agent if they at least see it pending, agent in turn asks me if I was told that it would be reversed. I inform agent it was.

Keep in mind through all this I keep patient and calm, well at least to the agents. I mean I am aware that it is not their fault that the previous CSRs did not help me. However I am starting to get a nagging feeling that they are soon to be the next CSR that screws me. Also keep in mind that by now I have made a habit to ask directly for a supervisor, and try and politly explain to each person that I know they have to try and solve it, but I don't want them too. None of them will let me speak to a supervisor.

CSR3 comes back and advises me it will be in my account by the end of the business day. I inform CSR 3 that they have my gas money, and I have been trying to resolve it for a week, and I am about to miss work because they have my money. The CSR doesn't seem to believe that I cannot make it to work unless I have gas. Grinding my teeth I inform in that I have called all my friends, two won't answer and one has a flat, and that I cannot fly, and therefor I need my car. I also inform him that I drove to work the day before with my gas light glaring at me, and I'm sure it won't last me today. He puts me on hold, and comes back to tell me that his supervisor will have it done in 5 minutes.

I call into work.

My fiance decides to make a break for work in the car, hoping he at least has enough gas to get there. In the meantime I stay and call again, this time getting a helpful, friendly CSR who takes a minute to look over my account, starts apologizing profusly, and immediatly transfers me to her supervisor. I explain my story once more, in full, and the supervisor remarks that she if she was me, she would be screaming and cussing out the person on the other line. I inform her it's not her fault, it's her company's, and that her company can happily burn in the deepest level of hell. She laughs, and says she'll put a temporary credit on my account so I can get my precious gas (well, at least my finace can get home), and that it is only temporary, and will be reversed at night, she will personally make sure to reverse any and all charges and will keep in touch. After she gives me her contact information, I agree and get off the phone. Ten minutes later I check my account again, to find that I am now 10$ under, not over. Aggrivated I call back and get no answer. Two hours later I call back, and she answers. I explain, and she claims she'll check on it and call me back. Another two hours later I finally get a call, and am relieved to see that I do infact have ten dollars in my account, but she had to screw the system and will therefor be checking on my account for the next week. I thank her, and get off the phone.

I know my bank won't pay my wages, but it is there fault I couldn't make it to work, plain and simple. The helpful supervisor even admited that, but no matter what I am out a whole day's pay, and I can't afford that. How can it be so hard to get 10 bucks back? Seriously?

[Bright_Star]

Talk about pinching a penny so hard that it screams. What bank was that anyway?

[Enigma]

Key Bank.

I am now a walking advertisment against them.

Hehe.

[Enigma]

Oh, I forgot to mention this, I just got off the phone with my Fiance, he ran out of gas four blocks from work, and had to push the car the rest of the way. Thankfully another employee helped him once he got one block away, and his managers understood why he was late.

>.>;

[Raieth]

You do realize that if you had yelled and screamed and been worse than the worst sc that you'd ever had. That the problem would have been fixed on the first phone call right?

[CanadaGirl]

You do realize that if you had yelled and screamed and been worse than the worst sc that you'd ever had. That the problem would have been fixed on the first phone call right?

Yelling and screaming is helpful how?

[Enigma]

You do realize that if you had yelled and screamed and been worse than the worst sc that you'd ever had. That the problem would have been fixed on the first phone call right?

I've worked in call centers, so I understand that somethings just need time, and no amount of yelling can change policy. That and I know a lot of centers have the right to hang up on you if you get too bad. I also go into a call with no assumption that the CSR is an asshole, because I absolutly loathed when people would I was as calous and bitter as the last CSR they got. But I think hearing the sting of "Let me talk to you're supervisor" got my point across.

[Velfarre2001]

Yelling and screaming is helpful how?

Because sometimes when you are being dicked around you need to let them know you are not going to put up with it. When one person says X the next Y, and the next Z, you KNOW there is a malfunction there somewhere.

Sometimes the nice and understanding approach gets you pushed around because they think that you won't push back.

Whether purposeful or not, you were being screwed around, badly, and you suffered something you could not afford to because of it.

It is rarely a good thing to do, but there are times when it works and you have to say **** this **** to accomplish anything. I think that is what Raieth is saying.

Personally I would not advocate being worse then the worse SC or even near that, but sometimes you must raise your voice to be heard.

[protege]

Personally I would not advocate being worse then the worse SC or even near that, but sometimes you must raise your voice to be heard.

Yep, sometimes you have to scream at someone to get anything done. Some of you might remember me ranting about the local gas company. These people have a well-deserved reputation for being assholes. They're only slightly better than the DMV, and get away with it, because they're a monopoly.

Anyway, shortly after I bought my house, I was getting the utilities switched over. Everything else went fine, until I dealt with the gas company. Whenever service (at least in my borough) is put into someone else's name, the company comes out to read the meter.

No biggie, so I scheduled the appointment, even though I couldn't be there. My parents live just down the street. Since the company wouldn't give an exact time when they'd be there, I left a note on the door, telling them to call my parents, so they could get into the house. Simple, right?

Imagine my surprise when I get home, find out that the gas company truck went *right* by the house. Called them back, redid the appointment...and it happened again! Turns out the guy was retiring, and didn't give a shit.

By then, I was pissed. I chewed out the rep, since she was rude--she would *not* transfer me to a supervisor, and was talking down to me. I literally went apeshit on her, got transferred, and then chewed out the supervisor too. Sorry, but he couldn't see a problem with what either of those idiots had done.

After some more ranting, not only did I get the meter read, but a nice credit as well. Take that!

[wagegoth]

I have to agree with Raieth and Protege, sometimes you have to scream to get these people to move. You're not being an SC, they are.

If you had told the first person, flat out, that if they did not fix that problem right NOW and you missed a day's pay because you couldn't get to work, that you would see them in small claim's court they probably would have fixed it that day. Don't let them push you aside. Escalate if you have to. Go to the supervisor, then the supervisor's supervisor, and make them wait on the phone for ten minutes to see the credit appear.

Frankly, I'd write a letter right now, while all this is fresh in your mind, with dates, names, etc., including the fact that your boyfriend had to push the car for several blocks, and send it to the President of the Bank, cc'd to the Vice President who's in charge of Customer Service, and anyone else having to do with customer service that you can find, along with the manager of your local branch. Nothing may happen, but you never know.

Please, do this, not just for yourself, but for every other small account holder that these banks treat like dirt.

[GolfCart34]

Personally I think you need to switch banks. I'm not sure if Key Bank charges a fee to close your account within so many days, but I would definitely check into it (usually it's within 90 days or so). I work for a small community bank and we would try our hardest to not treat our customers like that. Heck, when I opened an account at the bank I work for I had a problem with my debit card. Turns out they printed the wrong number on the card, so I took the card to the CSR who opened the account, she called the ATM people, and the next day I had a brand new card with the proper number delivered to the bank. The only bank I've had extensive problems with was ING. I had a home equity loan through them and they screwed it up so many times that I got fed up and refinanced my loan with the bank I worked for less than a month after I closed on the original loan. I also closed my savings account and checking account with them since I was so fed up with their service. I'd rather get a lower rate at my own bank and get great service than a higher rate at a bank where I get crappy service.

Also, you shouldn't be getting the runaround at the bank. You should be able to have one CSR or manager you can always call who knows your case and will work with you and keep you updated. For example, let's say you opened your account with Joe at x branch of the bank. A coulple of weeks later you have a problem with something on your account. You should be able to call Joe and rely on him to help you with your problem and, if need be, get you in contact with somebody who can help you more (be it a branch manager or whatnot).

If you do decide to switch banks, I highly recommend either going with a small, community bank or a local credit union. Usually the service at either will be far superior to the service you get at the large, national banks such as Key Bank.

[LizaMarie]

For a while I was certain you were talking about my bank! Bank of America seems to be a master of charging fees you have no idea about. Go for a credit union, empowered employees are better employees.