Customer service

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OKLAHOMAN

OKLAHOMAN

Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
10,228
Location
Costa Rica


This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see
 happening, customer service being what it
 is today.!!!
 Now some people are really stupid!!!!
A lady died this past January, and bank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $ 0.00, now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to bank. Here is the exchange:
Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died in January.'
Bank: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.' Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'
Bank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'
Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'
Bank: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'
Family Member: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?' (I really liked this part!!!!) Bank: 'Excuse me?'
Family Member: 'Did you just get what I was telling you – the part about her being dead?'
Bank: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.' (Duh!) Supervisor gets on the phone:
Family Member: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died in January.'
Bank: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.' (This must be a phrase taught by the bank!) Family Member: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'
Bank: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?' Family Member: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info given)
Bank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'
Family Member: 'Sure.' (Fax number is given ) After they get the fax:
Bank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'
Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don't think she will care.'
Bank: 'Well, the late fees and charges do still apply.'(What is wrong with these people?!?)
Family Member: 'Would you like her new billing adress.'
Bank: 'That might help.'
Family Member: 'Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.' Bank: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'
Family Member: 'What do you do with dead people on your planet??? Priceless!!
 
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Whenever they tell me the "late charges still apply" my response is "Then I'm talking to the wrong person - give the person who can change that."

Before this point I have already explained to them why I don't want to pay the late charge. Usually I will have said "you might have gotten the payment a couple of days late but it was payment for the full amount owed rather than the minimum payment."

Usually they will say "I'll let you talk to my supervisor."


I'll say "Can your supervisor cancel the late charge?"


Usually they say "I don't know."


Me "find out.'


on hold for 3 minutes and 45 seconds...."Hello Mr Smith. Are you still there?"


Me "Yes"


Them "I'm the supervisor, how may I help you."


Me "I want a late charge canceled."


Them "I'll be happy to explain why the late charge is there."


Me "I know why the late charge is there - I want it canceled."


Them "I can't do that."


Me "Then I don't want to talk to you. Get me the person who can cancel them."


Them "I'll get the manager"


Me "The next person I speak to better be able to cancel the charges, or I wiil be canceling the card."


A 3 minute and 45 second wait on hold...


Them "Are you still there Mr Smith?"


Me "Yes"


Them "It will be just a couple more minutes sir, will you continue to hold?


Me "OK I'll hold for 3 more minutes."


Two minutes and 30 seconds on hold


Them "Thank you for waiting Mr. Smith. That charge has been taken care of and will be deducted from your next bill. - Is there anything else I can help you with today?"


Me. "Thank you. No that's all I was calling about."
 
Back in the mid-80's I paid off one of my credit cards, but overpaid the amount due by $0.01.
The next month I got a statement showing I had a 1 cent credit.
I ignored the statement as I considered the account closed.
The next month I got another statement statement showing a 1 cent credit.
This went on for 12 months... finally I got tired of the clutter in my mail box and sat down to write a letter to the card company with the following explanation...
Sirs: For the past 12 months I have received a statement from you showing a $0.01 credit on my account. In the course of those 12 months, you have generated 12 paper statements, at a cost of at least $0.15 per statement.. not knowing the cost to run statements. Plus you have mailed those 12 statements at a rate of $0.21 per envelope/statement for a total cost to you of at least $4.32.
Hasn't it occurred to your accounting office that this is a closed account and it would be more prudent to write off the $0.01 credit, or return the credit amount to me than to continue to spend money to send statements and advise me of the credit amount?
The next month I got another statement from them, this time stating my account balance was zero.:rolleyes:
 
TellicoTurning said:
Back in the mid-80's I paid off one of my credit cards, but overpaid the amount due by $0.01.
The next month I got a statement showing I had a 1 cent credit.
I ignored the statement as I considered the account closed.
The next month I got another statement statement showing a 1 cent credit.
Click to expand...
I've had a similar experience - not $.01 but pennies. I forget how many months they kept mailing the statement but it was a long time finally they sent me a check - as I recall it was for a little over a quarter.

I also had one where they got a payment in full 1 day late and added a late charge they then deducted the payment and left only the late charge and that's how I got the bill. I ignored it and the next month got a bill with interest and another late charge added. I wrote to them telling them the situation and before I got a reply I got another bill with more interest and another late charge. This time I called them and said you know I have a bill with nothing but late charges and interest for the last three months. I asked how I could have late charges when I didn't owe them anything? They finally agreed to clear all the charges but they couldn't do it all on one billing because more late charges were going to be added - it took them two more bills to get the account to zero.
 
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