Customer service gone wrong
So, TBO and I pay many of our bills automatically, or online, as I'm sure more and more people throughout the country are doing. Saves us the cost of envelopes, stamps, checks, and time, and saves trees as well. The potential problem, though, is that I, at least, don't bother to look at my statements as scrupulously as I should, especially for loan payments. This weekend I decided to open up the envelope containing a car loan that I have with my employee credit union. On our latest statement appeared a $5.oo charge for a "Failure to notify change of address fee." I was peeved, because I think that is a completely bogus thing to ding me on, since we do all our business with them electronically. Who cares where I live, just so long as they get their money on time? I thought I could get this matter settled with a quick call this morning. You see, my understanding has always been that credit unions are supposed to be the local alternatives to large, monolithic/monopolistic, and uncaring national banks, but I now have serious doubts.
The response I got from the rep was, "I don't know what you expect me to do about it. We can't call every person who we get returned mail from. You wouldn't believe all of it we get!" Her attitude was one of a laughing (!) incredulity toward my concern and a steadfast refusal to even engage me in a reasonable discussion of the propriety of such a fee, let alone a gratuitous waiver of the fee in question. When I finally allowed her to "win" the argument (since I was getting absolutely nowhere except angertown), I asked if I could now change the address they have on file, to be told that they couldn't do that over the phone--as if someone would go through that verbal harassment in order to thereupon fraudulently change someone else's address! She "graciously" allowed me to do so by fax, but made sure to tell me that this was a huge favor she was granting me, because they normally only allow changes to be made in person.
Here's the message I sent:
To whom it concerns,
Please note my change of address to:
bryduck's address
Please also note my dissatisfaction with the lack of customer service this charge (and the total lack of responsiveness with which I was met by your agent) implies. You are collecting interest on this loan far in excess of the cost of a few pieces of returned mail--and infinitely more than the cost of a single courtesy phone call informing me of this problem--so I reject that "explanation" for the purpose of this fee. The credit union will no longer be on the list of institutions I will consider when doing any further financial business, and be assured I will take my loan elsewhere as soon as is practical.
Was that worth the $5.00 you've taken from me now?
Sincerely,
bryduck
All this over $5? Not really; if the initial conversation had been handled with more--or any--sympathy on the CSR's part, I would have quickly let it slide from memory, given my already near-total lack of goodwill toward most of the financial world; this kind of thing is expected. I also expected some smarmy half-assed apology and a quick greasing of my wheel squeak, and when I didn't get that, things got ugly.
After the fax went through, I received a phone call from a manager, presumably, of the credit union. I let it go to voice mail, because I have no intention of ever dealing with anyone there again. She's lucky I did, because her first statement was, "I was really displeased with the way you expressed yourself in your fax to us." I hope she was simply mispeaking, because that bit of offensiveness would have inspired some truly epic choice return phrases from me, to be sure, along with an instant transfer out of the loan in question, APR be damned.
It's all about fun here in [name of town deleted to protect the guilty]!
The response I got from the rep was, "I don't know what you expect me to do about it. We can't call every person who we get returned mail from. You wouldn't believe all of it we get!" Her attitude was one of a laughing (!) incredulity toward my concern and a steadfast refusal to even engage me in a reasonable discussion of the propriety of such a fee, let alone a gratuitous waiver of the fee in question. When I finally allowed her to "win" the argument (since I was getting absolutely nowhere except angertown), I asked if I could now change the address they have on file, to be told that they couldn't do that over the phone--as if someone would go through that verbal harassment in order to thereupon fraudulently change someone else's address! She "graciously" allowed me to do so by fax, but made sure to tell me that this was a huge favor she was granting me, because they normally only allow changes to be made in person.
Here's the message I sent:
To whom it concerns,
Please note my change of address to:
bryduck's address
Please also note my dissatisfaction with the lack of customer service this charge (and the total lack of responsiveness with which I was met by your agent) implies. You are collecting interest on this loan far in excess of the cost of a few pieces of returned mail--and infinitely more than the cost of a single courtesy phone call informing me of this problem--so I reject that "explanation" for the purpose of this fee. The credit union will no longer be on the list of institutions I will consider when doing any further financial business, and be assured I will take my loan elsewhere as soon as is practical.
Was that worth the $5.00 you've taken from me now?
Sincerely,
bryduck
All this over $5? Not really; if the initial conversation had been handled with more--or any--sympathy on the CSR's part, I would have quickly let it slide from memory, given my already near-total lack of goodwill toward most of the financial world; this kind of thing is expected. I also expected some smarmy half-assed apology and a quick greasing of my wheel squeak, and when I didn't get that, things got ugly.
After the fax went through, I received a phone call from a manager, presumably, of the credit union. I let it go to voice mail, because I have no intention of ever dealing with anyone there again. She's lucky I did, because her first statement was, "I was really displeased with the way you expressed yourself in your fax to us." I hope she was simply mispeaking, because that bit of offensiveness would have inspired some truly epic choice return phrases from me, to be sure, along with an instant transfer out of the loan in question, APR be damned.
It's all about fun here in [name of town deleted to protect the guilty]!
posted by bryduck at 10:51 AM
3 Comments:
Keep fighting the good fight!!!
XO-
TBO
I am aghast at this story. I sit on the supervisory committee of my credit union; we would never allow something like this to happen. A credit union is, by definition, a financial co-operative, a member is also, by definition, an owner of the business. Yes, there are fees to be collected; overdrafts, late payments, etc. However, the response of the manager was hardly one of someone who treated a member as a partner in business and I absolutely agree with your decision to find a new source for the loan. Out of curiousity, is it a Federal Credit Union or A Community Credit Union? There are differences in the charters but still, the attitude you reported is completely inexcusable and would result in some serious repercussions at the CU I use.
This is an FCU, iirc . . . Thanks for the assenting words!
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