patience gone
2007-08-11 11:10 Filed in: Miscellany
My patience with Bank of America finally disappeared
completely. I understand it is probably unusual for a
Bank of America credit card holder to reside outside
the U.S. I expected a less than perfect experience.
But I can only be inconvenienced so much before it's
not worth it. I really only wanted an American credit
card to have access to the American iTunes Store,
anyway.
I called a month or two before I moved, to tell them I changed my name. The woman on the phone congratulated me on my marriage, and updated her records. I asked if there was anything else I needed to do, because all the other places I talked to wanted a marriage license, and she said no, that was all, and I could expect a replacement card in the mail in 7-10 business days. I received my replacement card, bearing the name Lorry L Sach-Pedersen. I called again to correct the spelling. The woman on the phone, who was likely a different woman, although I guess I don't remember that well, after much confusion, eventually figured out I was saying "F as in foxtrot" and that "foxtrot" was not a part of my name. She corrected the spelling and sent out a new card, and everything was fine. This is not something I'm mad about. Mistakes happen.
I changed my address online, to reflect my parents' address in Florida, as I was spending about a month there. Then when I moved to Denmark, I updated my address again. The online address changing form was actually quite straightforward, even with a non-U.S. address. I was happy about that. I noticed that I had not received any emails for a while, so I changed my contact email to my gmail account. I received a confirmation email at that address, so I assumed that worked.
I noticed that at the top of the page, it was greeting me as Lorry L Strother. I sent an email to customer service explaining that I had changed my name over the phone, and I wanted to make sure that this was some bug in the online banking, and not a reflection of my current account information. I was promised a reply back within 12 hours. My reply, however, went to the old email, and was thus undeliverable. I did not realize this, of course, until logging in again and seeing that I had mail. This mail was addressed to Lorry L Strother and told me to call a 1-800 number to resolve the issue. I replied that I cannot call 1-800 numbers from Denmark, and to kindly refer to me by the name I just told you was mine. I also changed my email address a second time to be my gmail account.
I got a second reply, still addressed to Lorry L Strother, still undeliverable to the old email, telling me to go to my nearing Bank of America service center with proof of my name change. I replied and asked where I might find a Bank of America service center in Denmark, and asked why I was not asked for proof the previous two times I called, and for the second time, please refer to me by the proper name. The third mail finally used my actual name, arrived in my gmail inbox, and told me to call some number collect. Collect calls from a mobile phone are, I'm fairly certain, non-existent. But whatever. At least they appear to get it now. They did not address my questions, but how much can I expect?
Backtrack a day or two before this final email, and picture me on Apple's Danish website ordering a power adapter and battery for my iBook. The site says it cannot process my card at this time. Strange. I try again, and now my card is declined. My balance is $0. My credit limit is a lot higher than the price of a power adapter and battery, even with Danish VAT. I log onto online banking to try to figure out what's going on. Online banking is not available for my account, due to suspicious activity on my card. Please call a 1-800 number or go to this website to clear this up. Awesome. They give me a website option. I go to the website, and it asks for my account number. I enter it, and it tells me that my account is extra special and I can't go through the website after all. I have to call the 1-800 number.
Someone please tell me why it's suspicious for me to purchase Apple products in Denmark? I've spent thousands of dollars on Apple products using this card, and I live in Denmark. My address on the account is Danish. And it's not like we're talking about a lot of money. What, $200? If I stole a credit card and went to Apple's website, I'd buy a MacBook Pro or a Mac Pro. Maybe Creative Suite, and Final Cut Studio, too. Not a battery and power adapter for an outdated laptop. And I still can't call 1-800 numbers.
I should also mention that they put a hold on my account twice in the past for buying computers. Both times I called and told them to put a special note on my account that I can spend craploads of money at Apple, because I work there and I buy things a lot. It's not going to stop. I don't want a hold on my account every time I do it. Both times I was assured there would be no further problems. Perhaps they found out I don't work there anymore, and that's why it's suspicious?
So, let's recap.
It seems likely that there would be another screw-up in the future, and I'd have to call again. I don't want to call again. So I decided that I only wanted to make one international phone call. So I called once.
He asked for my name. I gave him Lorry L Fach-Pedersen. He seemed ok with this. (The online people are so convinced it's not my name. Maybe they should talk to him?) He asked for my address. I gave him the one here in Denmark. He's fine with that. He asked for my previous address. I gave him both my MN address and FL address. All good. He asked for my email. I gave him my gmail. "That's not the address we have on record." *sigh* I gave him the old one. He asked what airline I was on for my recent trip. (It wasn't a trip so much as me moving to Denmark, but I can't expect him to know that.) I told him. He asked if the charges to Apple Denmark were valid. I said yes. He apologized for the transaction not going through. "That's ok," I said, "I just want to cancel the account." He told me the account was closed and I should have a great morning. I said that he should too, and I hung up. May I never call them again.
I called a month or two before I moved, to tell them I changed my name. The woman on the phone congratulated me on my marriage, and updated her records. I asked if there was anything else I needed to do, because all the other places I talked to wanted a marriage license, and she said no, that was all, and I could expect a replacement card in the mail in 7-10 business days. I received my replacement card, bearing the name Lorry L Sach-Pedersen. I called again to correct the spelling. The woman on the phone, who was likely a different woman, although I guess I don't remember that well, after much confusion, eventually figured out I was saying "F as in foxtrot" and that "foxtrot" was not a part of my name. She corrected the spelling and sent out a new card, and everything was fine. This is not something I'm mad about. Mistakes happen.
I changed my address online, to reflect my parents' address in Florida, as I was spending about a month there. Then when I moved to Denmark, I updated my address again. The online address changing form was actually quite straightforward, even with a non-U.S. address. I was happy about that. I noticed that I had not received any emails for a while, so I changed my contact email to my gmail account. I received a confirmation email at that address, so I assumed that worked.
I noticed that at the top of the page, it was greeting me as Lorry L Strother. I sent an email to customer service explaining that I had changed my name over the phone, and I wanted to make sure that this was some bug in the online banking, and not a reflection of my current account information. I was promised a reply back within 12 hours. My reply, however, went to the old email, and was thus undeliverable. I did not realize this, of course, until logging in again and seeing that I had mail. This mail was addressed to Lorry L Strother and told me to call a 1-800 number to resolve the issue. I replied that I cannot call 1-800 numbers from Denmark, and to kindly refer to me by the name I just told you was mine. I also changed my email address a second time to be my gmail account.
I got a second reply, still addressed to Lorry L Strother, still undeliverable to the old email, telling me to go to my nearing Bank of America service center with proof of my name change. I replied and asked where I might find a Bank of America service center in Denmark, and asked why I was not asked for proof the previous two times I called, and for the second time, please refer to me by the proper name. The third mail finally used my actual name, arrived in my gmail inbox, and told me to call some number collect. Collect calls from a mobile phone are, I'm fairly certain, non-existent. But whatever. At least they appear to get it now. They did not address my questions, but how much can I expect?
Backtrack a day or two before this final email, and picture me on Apple's Danish website ordering a power adapter and battery for my iBook. The site says it cannot process my card at this time. Strange. I try again, and now my card is declined. My balance is $0. My credit limit is a lot higher than the price of a power adapter and battery, even with Danish VAT. I log onto online banking to try to figure out what's going on. Online banking is not available for my account, due to suspicious activity on my card. Please call a 1-800 number or go to this website to clear this up. Awesome. They give me a website option. I go to the website, and it asks for my account number. I enter it, and it tells me that my account is extra special and I can't go through the website after all. I have to call the 1-800 number.
Someone please tell me why it's suspicious for me to purchase Apple products in Denmark? I've spent thousands of dollars on Apple products using this card, and I live in Denmark. My address on the account is Danish. And it's not like we're talking about a lot of money. What, $200? If I stole a credit card and went to Apple's website, I'd buy a MacBook Pro or a Mac Pro. Maybe Creative Suite, and Final Cut Studio, too. Not a battery and power adapter for an outdated laptop. And I still can't call 1-800 numbers.
I should also mention that they put a hold on my account twice in the past for buying computers. Both times I called and told them to put a special note on my account that I can spend craploads of money at Apple, because I work there and I buy things a lot. It's not going to stop. I don't want a hold on my account every time I do it. Both times I was assured there would be no further problems. Perhaps they found out I don't work there anymore, and that's why it's suspicious?
So, let's recap.
- They didn't change my name when they said they did.
- They didn't change my email address when they said they did.
- Every transaction I make is going to be suspicious.
- All of these screw-ups mean I have to make an international phone call to fix it.
It seems likely that there would be another screw-up in the future, and I'd have to call again. I don't want to call again. So I decided that I only wanted to make one international phone call. So I called once.
He asked for my name. I gave him Lorry L Fach-Pedersen. He seemed ok with this. (The online people are so convinced it's not my name. Maybe they should talk to him?) He asked for my address. I gave him the one here in Denmark. He's fine with that. He asked for my previous address. I gave him both my MN address and FL address. All good. He asked for my email. I gave him my gmail. "That's not the address we have on record." *sigh* I gave him the old one. He asked what airline I was on for my recent trip. (It wasn't a trip so much as me moving to Denmark, but I can't expect him to know that.) I told him. He asked if the charges to Apple Denmark were valid. I said yes. He apologized for the transaction not going through. "That's ok," I said, "I just want to cancel the account." He told me the account was closed and I should have a great morning. I said that he should too, and I hung up. May I never call them again.
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