Partial Self-Sighting - I Hate Calling Customer Support

[Moosenogger]

This is yet another example of a situation that got my blood pressure arisin' during the fiasco that is my grandmother's Visa dilemma.

The quick backstory:

A scam company charged $1,500 to my grandmother's Visa. This immediately hiked her card above the limit by a cool $1,000. Apparently when this happens, the credit card company demands the overage on the next billing cycle.

I managed to get a CSR to waive the "minimum" monthly payment of $1,000 for the month of December 2011. In late January 2012, I get a call from a Visa spokesperson saying that they're going to credit back the $1,500 to my grandmother's Visa account and to not worry about a thing. Lovely!

So, when I got January's bill which again showed that $1,000 minimum payment, I figured I'd go the CSR route again and have that "minimum" payment waived once more. /bg

I called up the Visa customer service line and explained the situation to the CSR. I told her about the scam company, about having the minimum payment waived the previous billing cycle, and I also informed her that we were going to be getting the $1,500 credited back to us within the next few days. I then asked her to waive the "minimum" monthly payment of $1,000 and to finagle the system so that our normal payment of $20 would suffice for yet another month.

The CSR either didn't know how to do it or didn't want to, because she kept telling me to have my grandmother pay the $1,000 minimum payment in order to avoid having to pay interest on the credit amount.

Bwuh? Why on Earth would we pay Visa $1,000 when Visa is planning on crediting our account $1,500 within the next few days? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I repeated that we were going to get a $1,500 credit in the next few days, and asked if she had the notes concerning the credit (I don't know if the CSRs have access to dispute notes). She didn't really answer - just told me to pay the $1,000 minimum payment and contact whoever was in charge of our dispute case.

I hung up and immediately redialed, because **** that. (By the way, this is the point in the story where I'm starting to get really pissed off.)

I truly feel sorry for the next CSR I got, because I was in no way polite. I explained the situation once again and then flat-out told her, "We are not going to pay $1,000. I need you to make it so the regular monthly payment of $20 will be accepted. A CSR was able to do it last month, and I need it done for this month."

Thankfully, this CSR actually asked the supervisor if this plan was alright, and everything was finally sorted out. I felt bad about being so clipped with her (because she sounded like a nice lady), but I was fed up with this B.S. by the second CSR.

I hope this situation is cleared up after that $1,500 credit goes into the Visa account. I don't think my sanity could take much more.

[blas]

I am so sorry that this is still plaguing you.

I don't want to steal your thread, but I'll let you know you aren't alone in the frustrated department.

I was nearly worried I'd get in doo-doo because I had called Ally (used to be GMAC) to get my car payment schedule changed. First rep said no problem, just pay a partial next month payment and it's good to go. So I did it, and the payment went through same day, as it was early in the morning.

A week goes by, website still says payment is due at original time. So I call back. Oh, it hasn't processed the date change yet. But you're still ok.

Another week or so later, it's two days before my bill would originally be due, and it still says it's due! I call AGAIN and explain AGAIN that it was supposed to be changed. Oh, it still hasn't processed to be changed, let's try it again.

I nearly missed a car payment because of that.

[Moosenogger]

Another week or so later, it's two days before my bill would originally be due, and it still says it's due! I call AGAIN and explain AGAIN that it was supposed to be changed. Oh, it still hasn't processed to be changed, let's try it again.

It's at that point I'd start to wonder if the CSRs weren't just flicking pens at a target while they reassured me that it was being processed.

[blas]

I think it's a lack of communication when that stuff happens. That, or very poor computer equipment. Because you'd think everything gets noted, saved, and sent to somewhere or at least, stored.

It certainly gets irritating when you have to sit and freak out that you're going to get ticks on your perfect payment records or your credit will suffer because of someone who didn't do their job right.

[rose_metal_nz]

It certainly gets irritating when you have to sit and freak out that you're going to get ticks on your perfect payment records or your credit will suffer because of someone who didn't do their job right.

This. So much this. That's WHY I will keep calling back, and WHY I will sound like a broken record/annoying pain-in-the-ass customer when I ask "and have you noted this on my account? Are there notes from the last call I made?" I'll be damned if I'll let my credit get ruined over some call centre screwup /rant over.

it's also why I make pains to tell my own customers "And this is all documented on your account should you need to refer to it later"

[Teskeria]

Thats a big screwup on that Visa's bank part IMO. The card company I work for keeps a disputed amount suspended until the dispute is settled. If a credit is coming, the charge is not removed from suspense until the credit is posted, therefore allowing the credit to cover the charge.

[PepperElf]

or mixed systems.

like where i work, changed made in one system do not affect other systems. and in one of ours, you can change addresses etc for example but... it doesn't remove the old ones. which pisses customers when they find out the system has 2-3 previous addresses for them to pick from.