Bend over America

I'm glad there is someone else out there who is just as ticked off with Bank of America as I am.  I've never had to fight so much with a company to make them do the right thing.  This isn't a case of "the customer is always right" - this is just simply doing right by your customers.  The last straw was my ultimate frustration at having been charged for a stop payment on checks that I ordered, but were sent to the wrong address twice - both times, the bank's fault.  They shipped checks to a 2 year old address, which was not listed on my account since I moved.

While twittering my frustration, a friend mentioned that a Bank of America rep was now on Twitter... so I sent them a tweet.  I gave BofA the benefit of the doubt, yet again, and gave them some time to resolve not only the check issue, but the fact that they still hadn't adjusted my miles correctly (again as a result of bank error from when I was mugged in DC). It came down to sending an e-mail describing my issue and I decided to provide the ENTIRE history of the problem so they could really see where they f'd up... here's my letter to them:

Good Morning David,

On December 27, 2008, I was mugged and my wallet stolen which included my US Airways Dividend Miles Visa Check Card.  I immediately called to cancel the card and request a replacement.  Fortunately, I was visiting family in DC for Christmas and was able to go to a local Bank of America to receive a temporary Check Card while I waited for mine to arrive in the mail.

(Aside: This is a HUGE issue with BofA... your company name is Bank of America - why is it that I cannot get a temporary Visa Check Card from where I LIVE (Nevada)?  It shouldn't matter that I moved - and I shouldn't have to move my money to a new account number which would interrupt direct deposits and scheduled payments.  VERY inconvenient.  I ran into this issue when my card was skimmed while on vacation in Feb 2008 and was stranded in LA w/o access to my money for a week and ended up having to contact Executive Escalations to receive resolution.  In addition, replacement cards should be sent out overnight - or at the VERY least, the reps need to OFFER to send the card overnight.  This time around, the rep actually told me that they couldn't ship overnight when I knew that to be wrong as your Exec Escalations team did.  Peoples' lives do not revolve around 'bank hours' and in a situation of lost/stolen, that customer may only have one account/bank which they are now cut off from.  Just a suggestion...)

When my replacement card arrived - it was a Platinum Check Card, not a US Airways Dividend Miles Check Card.  I called in and the rep told me that the rep at the bank had seen her mistake and already ordered the US Airways Check Card and it should arrive within 7-10 business days.  10 business days (2 weeks) later, no card.  I called in again and this rep stated that there was no order for a US Airways Check Card - and they placed the order, another 7-10 business day wait.  When I finally received my US Airways Card I called in to ask about the timeframe (now a month) of purchases and if they would be credited to my US Airways account or not since I was using a Platinum Check Card and not a US Airways Card.  The rep informed me that no, I was not receiving miles for my purchases and I would have to contact US Airways to resolve.  I contacted US Airways customer service and was told that they could not help - I'd have to contact Bank of America... after 6 calls that evening, I FINALLY was able to get to a supervisor w/ BofA and she apologized as there was a 'form' she could fill out for this very issue and the miles would be credited.  Again, I was given a 7-10 business day turn around time for resolution.  I believe this was towards the end of February/early March when I hung up from this call, finally relieved that my issue had been resolved and I could go about my business.  Unfortunately, that was not the case... When I received my US Airways statement, no miles had been credited.  I allowed another month to go by as I know credits/adjustments can take a few cycles to be posted and appear on customers' statements.

I called in again around the beginning of March, I believe during the same call during which I re-ordered checks and the rep was able to work with her manager to send off this mysterious 'form' again to have mileage credited.  This time around, I did receive communication via US Mail that miles had been credited to my US Airways account in the amount of 205 miles for the purchases between 12/27/08 and 1/23/09 (the approximate date I activated my replacement Dividend Miles Check Card).  This is incorrect.  Purchases using my Check Card for that time period total $1852.  As I receive 1 mile for every $2 I spend w/ the Check Card, this totals 926 miles which should have been credited.  This leaves 721 miles missing.

On 4/4/09, I called back in response to the letter and immediately asked for a supervisor as I was not only calling about the missing miles but also missing checks that I had ordered a month prior (only to find out that the order was shipped to a 2 year old address... and the best part was, the first rep I called about that issue stated that he reordered checks and issued a stop payment on the order that shipped to the wrong address - a few days later I get hit w/ a stop payment fee of $30 which I then had to spend another 15 minutes on the phone to have credited... And his order?  That was ALSO sent to the old address which THANKFULLY the supervisor that I was directed to to review the mileage issue caught and corrected.... but I digress...)  The rep referred me to "Card Services" which of course wasn't the right department and so I had to hang up and call back in and immediately ask for a supervisor.

I wish I had her name, as she was very sweet and inquired about all my other issues and was able to catch the error w/ the check re-order.  She spoke w/ her supervisor and yet another form has been sent out and I was told that it would be resolved quickly - but I STILL haven't seen the 205 miles hit my US Airways Account which the letter states: "The miles will be credited to your Dividend Miles account on the next reporting date of April 1, 2009.  You may verify your total miles after that date online at www.usairways.com or by contacting US Airways at 1.800.428.4322."  I requested a call back and provided my mobile number but, needless to say, no call...

I've now spent 11 CALLS over the span of 3 months to resolve this ONE issue.  Normally I'd even add up the time spent on the phone, but I think I've gotten the point across: This is completely unacceptable.  I work in customer relations managing over $30 million in customer accounts.  When I receive a call/e-mail from one of my customers, I not only resolve ASAP, but I also follow-up to make sure that it was resolved to the customer's satisfaction.  While I am not a multi-million dollar customer with BofA, when I have called in numerous times for the same issue, I should receive a call or e-mail personally from a supervisor advising me of the resolution, or at the very least a status update if the resolution is taking longer than expected.

I've included my information below per your request to look up my account.  I have included my contact phone number below as well; however, as I'm sure you can tell by now, I'm quite tired of speaking on the phone.  Unless the call is regarding the complete resolution to this issue, or a necessary inquiry - I would rather not waste the time.

Account Look Up Information:

Name:

State Opened:

Current State/Zip:

Thank you in advance for your help and support to resolve.

-Christopher

3 months and 11 calls... not kidding either.  I've never had to resort to taking my business/money/time somewhere else, but from what I can tell, I'm not the only one who feels this way - specifically towards Bank of America.  Or as Roy De Young calls them: "Bend over America".

I couldn't have said it better myself.  I came across his YouTube video when I noticed BofA's Twitter Rep replying to yet another angry customer.  Tomorrow's the day for the walkout he's proposed... and to be honest, I'm considering it.  Although I'm more the 'just close my account over the phone so I don't have to deal with anyone in person' type.  That, and I still have direct deposits that haven't switched over to my new Wells Fargo account.  Unfortunately, I am having to switch though.  Such a pain in the ass... but if BofA had done right by me and the rest of their customers, they wouldn't be losing this business.

As I said in my letter, I may not have millions of dollars with them, but I've also never been treated like the money I do have is worthless.  Good bye Bank of America.