A banking horror story

[yas]

I tried to top-up my mondo account the other night; conveniently, my main bank account, blocked my card (even though i’ve made the same transaction before)

So I had no choice but to call the dreadful customer service/ fraud department to try and remove the block off my card. I was told a ‘token’ was left on my house phone voicemail (which does not help as I was at work) and would only be able to remove the block if I had the token. I kindly requested them to call my mobile number (which is also associated with my bank account) so I could retrieve the token at work. The ‘fraud specialist’ told me that the system does not work like that… and I would need access to the home phone to be able to unlock the account.

After a change in tone and through hassling this ‘specialist’ he said I could remove my house phone number via the online banking portal and that would mean the system would call the other number on my account. Fine. So I logged and done just that. I was no longer on the phone to the bank and thought I’d wait till I received the call so I can unblock my card, top up my mondo and go about my day. *note, I now had a blocked card and a mondo account with £9 on it. #Balling.

A few hours went by and still no call to my mobile. I was pretty pissed off and didn’t want to speak to them again in the evening so I thought I’d leave it for tomorrow. (which is today). So I called the fraud department number again and was greeted by microsoft anna (or whichever voice they use) and went through a series of security questions. The final one was, “please enter the security token given”…

breathe

I was given another number to call so I went ahead and called the f*cking number. Another ‘fraud specialist’ greeted me. I explained the situation, I explained why i removed the house phone number (because i was told to) and I explained that I would like to receive another call to I could get the token.

He told me that my account has now been put on the highest level of security block (whatever that means) and that there is nothing he can do. The only way to unblock the account was to go into a branch and show photo ID. …

I still have to go in branch but I thought I would share my story so we really understand how mondo is going to change an industry that is plagued by legacy systems and an even worse support system.

I was thinking to make a website where users can submit their bad experiences with banks and then sign up to mondo! or something. kind’ve like a http://www.fmylife.com/ but for bank horror stories.

On a side note, please get your banking license so I can leave the bank completely!!!

[yas]

You won’t believe what happened after…

I got there and the cashier told me that my account is not locked. “Nothing on my system suggests that your account is locked”

I explained it’s blocking all my online transactions to which she responded “make a purchase again and then call the fraud department”…

On my way back home, I thought i’d call the fraud department AGAIN… to ask the wtf is going on.

“Im terribly sorry, but the information you were told at the bank is wrong. Please can you go back and ask them to call us so we can verify your ID”

…
*A few years ago I watched a film called The Purge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Purge - and up until this point I never thought I would ever participate; but now I wish it existed.

Anyway, I went back to the bank and explained they have to call the fraud department and verify my ID. Apparently, only the manager can do this. So I waited for her to ‘cash up’ (30 mins) to make a phone call.

So after 2 visits, 5 phone calls, 10 blocked transactions and wasting 2 days of my life, my account is now unblocked.

Happy days.

[anon75007828]

Can you share which terrible bank this is so I/others can be sure to never use them?

[yas]

Halifax

It was fine as a student account - but i never bothered to change after ;(

[hugo (Hugo Cornejo)]

OMG @yas, the second part of your story is even worse that the first one. I’m really sorry that they gave you so bad service

I hope we can make Mondo so good that you’ll feel that it even with that nightmare it was totally worth it

[jmap (John Mapley)]

Reminds me of my experience arriving in Tokyo and trying to withdraw some cash to pay my first month’s rent to my landlord, only to find my card didn’t work (I had told them I was travelling).

My landlord let me use their phone to call the bank (otherwise I would’ve been 18 and homeless in a foreign city at this point in the story), who told me that there was no block on my card and I should try it again.

That, about eight (seriously, 8) times, running between different ATMs and the phone in the landlord’s office over the course of several hours, each time making them fully aware I’m about to become homeless, and being assured there was no block on my account. Then it was nearly closing time for my landlord.

I trekked across the city to this bank’s only Tokyo branch, a fancy branch which is supposed to be exclusively for rich people, with sofas and cushions and coffee and crumpets and heuwpfhwufh… I handed them my card and said “please make this work”. They offered me a sofa and a cushion (no coffee or crumpets) while they called the UK office, who I guess said something like:

Oh yeah, that’s the crazy guy who’s been calling all day. There’s no block on his card.

I took them by the hand and lead them to their own ATM to show them that the transaction is declined. あれ？！？！

Anyway, it was late at this point and they wanted to close, so they kicked me out on the street and told me to come back the next day. Amazingly my landlord let me stay the night in the apartment… phew.

The next day I trekked back to the fancy pants branch to see what they could do for me, and they put me on the phone with the bank’s elite top secret fraud department, a maverick squad who aren’t afraid to break the rules. Apparently they have their own special block they sometimes put on cards that the regular fraud department can’t see or remove. Trollol. They actually asked if I’d like to remove the block.

24 frantic hours after my first attempt, I was finally able to withdraw cash. Oh and the parting shot? When I told them I would be making a complaint they said that this was normal procedure, for my own protection, so they weren’t interested in any feedback…

[jdon.xyz (Jason)]

this doesn’t suprise me at all.

I know this whole process as well, and I know exactly what happened.

None of the systems link together at all. The numpty would have just checked to see if your card was active, saw it was and sent you on your way

There was another system called Service 4 You, they obviously didn’t load up your account details in this, and chose one of the other like 3 systems to load your account. Fraud would have put notes on s4u - or maybe they didn’t, sometimes they don’t to avoid somebody “tipping off” the potential fraudster.

But generaly there would be a block indicator to say call fraud department ASAP.

Basically, nothing syncs together in the company at all, and every department uses different systems. They eventually implemented a system that worked together in sync with online banking, but nobody wanted to use it because it wasn’t very good and didn’t do everything that you needed to do