More and more I find it disgusting what these CEO’s get paid when the middle class is sinking. Where’s my bailout?! I’m going to start going door to door with a collection can… spare change anyone? Feel free to donate to my PayPal account…
Teaser for Michael Moore’s new film, Save our CEO’s:
Michael Moore on MSNBC:
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.
I’m almost there! When I moved to Las Vegas, I weighed 125 lbs. Yes. 125 pounds. Since August, I’ve gained 13 lbs and am up to 138 lbs. My goal: 150 lbs… and I seem to be at a standstill… I’ve passed the halfway mark, but can’t seem to gain anymore. I feel as though I’m at a point where I’m just maintaining everything, and/or making everything more defined. And on top of everything, my abs are bigger than my chest! HA! Oh well… I’m sure it’ll all even out. 
So it’s the big 2008 now. I still find myself writing/typing 2007 and having to correct it… probably take ’til at least mid-end February before I’ve finally realized what year it is. In any case… Mandy and I have begun to keep track of goals. Meaning, writing them down, and once every other month, sitting down and reviewing them. Making sure they’re attainable goals and that they are specific enough. Not just, “pay off credit cards” but more so , pay off “$xx.xx” by some date. I finally paid off the Capital One Card… only to rack it right back up again. So that card has been cut up. Literally. When I saw the next statement, I was so aggravated with myself that I had let myself do that. And practically nothing on the statement was worth it. Just paid it off again – thanks to the extra funds – but I needed to do something to prevent myself from using it. Now I just have to start in on the big one.
But yea, goals. I’m rather proud of myself with the things I’ve accomplished since moving here. I’ve become so focused on what I want in life… and taking steps to make sure I get it. The first step of that was getting my finances in check. I’m not spending every last cent on clothes or coffee (sorry Starbucks, but I gotta cut somewhere); and I’m actually putting away a decent start to a savings. Let’s hope that the car doesn’t break down and end up eating that… but if it did, I would still be happy that I had been smart to save the money. That’s what it’s there for, right? The other was health and gym. For my height, I should be around 145-150, and thankfully, I’ve been doing something right because I’m halfway there. Just gotta keep up the momentum.
I’ve officially made it one week in Vegas and haven’t gotten sick of it yet. Four more boxes have arrived of my stuff that was sent via UPS here so now I can hang my clothes on wood hangers and not the plastic ones I started to use but then stopped – cuz – honestly – my clothes shouldn’t have to endure such an atrocity as plastic hangers. Thankfully Jake is all better – my checking account however is a different story. Cost over $700 to replace the water pump… lets just hope I can survive with only $40 for the next two weeks.
Work is going great and really I couldn’t ask for more. I’ve moved and haven’t had an emotional breakdown (yet) and I’ve had more fun this past few weeks than I got to do in a long long time. Took a few more pictures which I’ve made into headers for my blog so they should be rotating around soon above and I hope to have my Roadtrip pics up soon. Stay tuned!
So I was thinking the other day as I handed my credit card to the cashier at Starbucks…’they’ve raised the price of espresso again?!‘ Why is it so expensive to get a little caffeine?! I started to wonder how much money I’d “invested” in the coffee business over the years and started to calculate in my head how much I spent in a week… month… year?! Let’s lay out the math, shall we?
Quad (yes, 4 shots) Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte = $5.73 (price after $0.10 hike in espresso cost)
$5.73 x Work Week (5 days) = $28.65
$28.65 x Month (4 weeks) = $114.60
$28.65 x Year (52 weeks) = $1,489.80!!
That’s crazy!!! I owe that much on one of my credit cards! Just think – I could be one step closer to debt-freeness if it weren’t for the hot strong addiction that espresso has on my daily routine. Blast! Can I get a tax write-off or something?
Why is it when you get a really really good boss – they go in search of better things? Congrats are in order for my boss who took another position within AT&T’s Government segment; but it does make me worry a little bit about my situation. Recently there was an incentive where many teams got rid of their remote employees to save on expenses and all. Thankfully, my Director approved me to move to Las Vegas and stay on the same team; but now that my boss is leaving… that only leaves the Director who knows about the arrangement. If something happens and he leaves – I’m going to want this in writing.
Other than that – life is just grand. I’ve begun packing somethings to send and getting rid of things I don’t need. It’s starting to look like when I first moved in! Pretty soon I’ll be off on my way across the country. Speaking of grand… I just paid off one of my credit cards!!! WOOHOO!!! Go me! Life is great when you’re not fending off the 25.9% interest rates (yes… 25.9% – I know, it was madness!!).
Recently, I’ve become increasing interested in trading stocks… probably peaked by the fact that Bill’s boyfriend has made a ton of money on it and I’m trying to find a second income somewhere… but it also seems to be a good opportunity to learn about the market and such. I’d always hoped to learn about stocks and the market in school, but we never got to that lesson… damn snow days. If anyone has any advice, I’d gladly love to hear your experiences and tips. I started paper trading on this site that provides a very very very basic portfolio tool that allows you to faux-buy stocks and watch to see them grow or fall. A “what-if” for the stock market. Mandy’s husband Keegan has given me a few books that he recommends to learn about it all.
I’m hoping it’s enough to spare $5… I’m on vacation and my finances got screwed (no I didn’t gamble it away – I’d have had to have it in the first place to do that)… so now I have to wait til next Friday to get paid – blah… so if you’re feeling generous to drop a few bucks in my PayPal account – I will love you long time.
Good Evening my Blogography. How’ve you been? I know I know; it’s been quite a while since we’ve chatted. So much has been going on and I just haven’t had the time to collect my thoughts. Lately though, things have slowed down and I’ve been able to relax. Yes, I said it – RELAX! Work is going well. In fact, better than “well”… excellent… ‘fan-fuckin-tabulous’ even! I don’t think I ever communicated that to you. I received a promotion back in April. I now manage corporate wireless accounts for Cingular. I have a cube, a corporate credit card, even this new laptop! And the best part is – I can do the job from anywhere – even California! Just another step in that direction… but more about that later. I am thoroughly happy and grateful for the new position. It’s been nice to be on salary now… something I can count on. With that said – I finally seem to have a grasp on my finances, which is a big relief! It’ll still take a great deal of effort to keep it that way – but I hope these “hard times” have shown me that I can live without spending a fortune on shit I don’t need. Well… that and I withdrew from my 401(k) to pay off some of the shit that was in collections… but I’m caught up. And that’s what matters.
So now that I have cleared up my $ situation, what else will I write/complain/bitch about? Hmm… I’ll get back to you on that!
FINALLY completed this, and last year’s taxes! What a hassle!!! I suppose the fact that I forgot to do my state taxes last year and that I ended up getting an extra $300 back, I shouldn’t be too bothered. At least it helps pay what I owe this year! That’s the trouble with commission paid jobs… if you make more commission during the last part of the year than the first, you’re screwed. Oh well… At least it all worked out… I made out in the positive this year, so I shouldn’t be complaining. I just wish I didn’t have to do them at all! HAHA… who wants to do my taxes next year? 
I’ll pay you in food!
