Last month I shared stories of good customer service Kris and I have experienced recently. Sadly, this sort of thing seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Tim wrote to share a frustrating experience he had with Bank of America, the kind of thing The Consumerist covers all the time. Here’s his story:

My employer ran a promotional thing where if you completed a set of “healthy living” tasks, they gave you $25.  When we got the $25, rather than being cash, check, or added to our paychecks, it was given to us in the form of a $25 pre-paid debit/credit card from Bank of America.

When my card arrived in the mail, it had the usual sticker across the front notifying me that I had to activate it before use.  I attempted to activate it using the website listed on the sticker, but when I entered the last four digits of my SSN as requested, it told me that the authorization failed.

Giving up on the online activation, I called the number listed on the sticker instead.  The automated phone activation also failed, so I was transferred to a live operator.  The gentleman was quite helpful, and activated my card for me.

All seemed well and good, until a few days later when I attempted to use the card for exactly $25 and much to my confusion, it was denied.  Thinking that perhaps the activation had somehow failed a third time, I called the number on the card again.  The lady that I spoke with explained to me that my card was denied for “insufficient funds” because it only had $22.50 on it.  Huh?!?  When I explained that it was a $25 pre-paid card, and I this was my first and only attempt to use it, she told me that there had been a $2.50 “call fee.”

The only time I called in was to activate the card.  During the call, there was never a notification that there would be any kind of fee associated with the call.  When I asked the lady if that meant that this call would also result in a $2.50 fee, she replied “probably.”  When I explained to her that there was never a notification of any fees, and I had only called in to activate the card, she essentially told me “tough cookies, this card has fees.”

It’s not as though I need the $5, but I have to say that I was extremely put off by Bank of America’s deceptive practices, excessive fees, and total disregard for customer satisfaction.  If it is at all in my power, I will never do business with Bank of America in the future.  What I don’t understand is how that kind of practice can possibly be legal?

This reminds me of gift cards with fees or expiration dates. I recently gave away our encyclopedia set for free on Craigslist. The man who picked up the books was so excited that he gave me a partially-used Blockbuster gift card. He didn’t know the balance, and when I researched it myself I learned:

  • Blockbuster gift cards expire after two years of inactivity.
  • There’s no way to check the balance from the web or by phone. You must go to a store to check the balance.

I eventually made it to a store, but it was a frustrating experience. I usually do business with companies that are easy to work with, so I’m not accustomed to those with policies that are customer-hostile. (To make matters worse, I used the gift card to buy The Godfather, a movie I already own! Growing old is the pits…)

GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.

64
Comments

This article is about Real-Life, Shopping  

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

Discover is a paid advertiser of this site. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.