My Shittybank Experience
NOTE - This is a true story and happened to me last month. While the timelines mentioned in this blog are true and accurate, I've kept out figures and names.
In June 2011, I paid my credit card bill online and, as usual, I checked my account balance. To my horror, I found that the amount deducted was double that I had paid the card company. I quickly checked the transactions and discovered that the bill had been paid already (as I had set standing instructions for automatic payment of the credit card bill). So the bill had been paid twice.
I immediately called up customer support and they assured me that the money would be transferred in 3 working days. We waited for three days but nothing happened. So, I called them again. This time I was told that Chandrika would have to call as she was the primary card holder. Chandrika called them in the evening and she was assured that the money would be transferred to HER account in three days. Three days went by and we called again - assurances but no action. Meanwhile, Citibank has adjusted the extra money against my new charges.
June was almost over (3 weeks since I paid the bill) and they had still not taken any action. I called them again two weeks ago (It's mid-July now). The executive I spoke to gave me the same assurances, so I asked him to connect me to his manager. Once the manager came online, I explained the issue to him and promised to take legal action if:
a) Citibank didn't return my money
b) Compensate me for the interest lost
He promised to get back on the same day. He tried calling me in the evening, but I was caught up with some personal emergency and couldn't take the call. Things went into deep freeze yet again. I neither received any e-mails, letters, or calls after that.
I called them again 2 days ago and asked for the manager I had last spoken to two weeks ago. The executive explained that he was not available and that she would try and sort things out herself. I explained everything to her, including the fact that I would be initiating legal action. I had everything ready for legal action - bank statements, credit card statements, call records, AND full names of every executive I had spoken to. During my conversation, I mentioned the names of her colleagues whom I had spoken to. I also told her that all those names would figure in the legal notice.
Thankfully, this woman turned out to be efficient and smart. She called me in the evening to tell me that the money would be transferred back to MY account (not my wife's) and that she would get back to me on the compensation issue the next day. True to her word, she called me back the next day with news that Citibank had agreed to pay me 18% per annum for the 30 days that they had wrongfully held my money.
She sounded relieved! I wasn't exactly thrilled. I feel I should have pushed for a letter of apology and maybe more compensation. All said and done, this is one moral victory I will cherish forever.
In June 2011, I paid my credit card bill online and, as usual, I checked my account balance. To my horror, I found that the amount deducted was double that I had paid the card company. I quickly checked the transactions and discovered that the bill had been paid already (as I had set standing instructions for automatic payment of the credit card bill). So the bill had been paid twice.
I immediately called up customer support and they assured me that the money would be transferred in 3 working days. We waited for three days but nothing happened. So, I called them again. This time I was told that Chandrika would have to call as she was the primary card holder. Chandrika called them in the evening and she was assured that the money would be transferred to HER account in three days. Three days went by and we called again - assurances but no action. Meanwhile, Citibank has adjusted the extra money against my new charges.
June was almost over (3 weeks since I paid the bill) and they had still not taken any action. I called them again two weeks ago (It's mid-July now). The executive I spoke to gave me the same assurances, so I asked him to connect me to his manager. Once the manager came online, I explained the issue to him and promised to take legal action if:
a) Citibank didn't return my money
b) Compensate me for the interest lost
He promised to get back on the same day. He tried calling me in the evening, but I was caught up with some personal emergency and couldn't take the call. Things went into deep freeze yet again. I neither received any e-mails, letters, or calls after that.
I called them again 2 days ago and asked for the manager I had last spoken to two weeks ago. The executive explained that he was not available and that she would try and sort things out herself. I explained everything to her, including the fact that I would be initiating legal action. I had everything ready for legal action - bank statements, credit card statements, call records, AND full names of every executive I had spoken to. During my conversation, I mentioned the names of her colleagues whom I had spoken to. I also told her that all those names would figure in the legal notice.
Thankfully, this woman turned out to be efficient and smart. She called me in the evening to tell me that the money would be transferred back to MY account (not my wife's) and that she would get back to me on the compensation issue the next day. True to her word, she called me back the next day with news that Citibank had agreed to pay me 18% per annum for the 30 days that they had wrongfully held my money.
She sounded relieved! I wasn't exactly thrilled. I feel I should have pushed for a letter of apology and maybe more compensation. All said and done, this is one moral victory I will cherish forever.
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