Below is a transcript in case you can't see the video:
My name is Jackie Ramos, and I would like to tell everyone a story. I am a former employee at Bank of America in Georgia. I worked in the customer assistance department from May 1st to November 23rd, 2009. And by the way, "customer assistance" is a euphemism for "the collections department."
Every day I came to work and did just as I was supposed to: I collected. In fact, I was one of the top performers of my department, even outdoing those who were more tenured than I was. But something was wrong. There was something inherently evil about my job.
I'm not sure if Bank of America knows this, but we are in a recession, and most of us, we are hurting.
Day in and day out, I was told to charge people who had already fallen behind in their credit card bills an additional $15 just to make a payment with me. As I was told by my manager, it was a convenience fee. I was told to deny refunding as many late and over the limit fees as I could. There was even one month I was given a verbal warning about the amount of fees that I refunded, because as I was told so many times, Bank of America is a corporation, and they are for profit.
There is something we have in my department called a Fix Pay. Essentially it is a program that turns your balance into an installment loan. It stops all fees on the account, and it also closes your account. In order to get a Fix Pay, though, you have to qualify by answering a rather irrelevant set of questions, like how much you spend on groceries and how much your cellphone bill is. Day in day out I had to deny countless people who needed the program but didn't qualify. Too often I would have to give them the spiel about, "I can't accept you [into the program] because your disposable income is too negative," and then they would just sit there on the phone and say, "Well, if I could afford to pay my bill, why would I need a program?"
I will never forget one card holder. A 24-year-old woman with a child, just found out she had cancer, she lost her mom and her husband all in the same week. Of course she had a very limited income. She had to quit her job. But she still respected Bank of America enough to try to pay off her $6,000 debt. But she just needed help. She sobbed on the phone telling me she couldn't afford the 30 percent interest that we had her--sorry, 29.99 percent interest--that we had her account on. She couldn't afford the $39 late fee, the $39 over the limit fee. She told me that we were her first credit card when she turned 18, we were her only credit card, and that she was a loyal customer, and given the time to be on this earth a little while longer she would have always remained a loyal customer. I couldn't put her on the program, she didn't have enough income.
According to BOA she doesn't have enough income to be put on the program, but she can however keep paying the high interest rate on the account, and fees, because at the end of the day it is her account, she did rack up the debt, and she was late, so she did deserve that 29.99 percent interest rate that she had, and it wasn't up to Bank of America to help her figure out how to get this debt paid off. It was up to her.
There's a joke in my department: upstairs they sell you the credit, downstairs we collect on it. Too often I heard stories about how senior citizens and college students were specifically targeted, so Bank of America could continue to make money off of them. I had one elderly lady who was legally blind. Every month she sent them the incorrect amount because she couldn't see. Her 3 percent APR after 3 times being late went to 29.99 percent. She actually told me that one of the associates told her she needs to look at her statements more clearly.
After all, who better to target than the young and the old. Don't deny for a second that there are systematic practices put in place to keep America in debt.
I'm not doing this video because I'm bitter. I'm not doing this video because I hate [my old boss]. I still have a lot of respect for him. Out of all the interviews I had in my life, I will never forget the one I had with him. He told me the most interesting interview question he's ever been asked is, "What keeps you up at night?"
Before I got that job, that question didn't really make sense to me. Who asks that in an interview, I thought? But now that I've been in that department for a while, it makes sense, it does seem normal. All the people that I've had to deny [repayment] programs to--they kept me up at night. All the people that I've pissed off with a $15 "convenience fee"--they kept me up at night. All the people who were dying, lost a child, husband, mom, dad, all the people who lost their jobs and sat on the phone sobbing to me that if we just gave them a little bit of help, they could make ends meet--they kept me up at night. All the angry cardholders who told me the reason why Bank of America is the corporation that it is, is off the hard work of them and their tax dollars--they kept me up at night.
So... I stopped denying people. I helped people get on programs that they didn't necessarily qualify for, but who definitely needed the help. Every day I was told three things:
I figured if I placed more cardholders on programs at affordable rates, then maybe they could afford their light bill, or even enjoy a trip with their child to the movies. If the account was affordable for the card holder, it wouldn't charge off. I mean, that seems as simple as 1 and 1 being 2. But my company didn't think so.
- do the right thing for the customer;
- think of yourself as a customer;
- and do the right thing for the company.
At the end of the day I would love to have a company that thought of me as more than just a dollar bill. I would love to have a company just be more humanitarian, and think of me as a person instead of a profit.
But the three things I was told to think about every day in my interactions with cardholders didn't matter. In fact, only one of them did. "Do what is right for the company." Again, Bank of America is for profit. They would rather charge 30 percent interest anyway, than give hard working Americans like me and you a lower interest rate and work with us instead of against us.
So, [my boss] fired me. He told me I can't put people on programs who don't deserve it. During our meeting, he asked me if what I did was right. I looked him dead in the eye and I said, "Absolutely." I know he was expecting me to maybe say no or to apologize, but there's no apology. There's no way I could look myself in the mirror every day and justify not helping someone when I had the power to do it.
Given the opportunity to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. He actually looked at me, he told me that he understood why I did what I did, he said I had a really big heart. But at the end of the day, it was policy, and he had to let me go. He told me my manager would escort me to the security desk and that all my stuff would be there.
And he was right. All my stuff was there in two boxes, all my awards, all the pictures of my son, even a plate of food that I had on my desk. [My manager] packed all my belongings, including the plate of food, and threw it in the box. The food got all over my shoes and awards, even the picture of my son. After all, Bank of America? They're just a corporation. They're not concerned with their employees' well-being or clearly even their cardholders.
There's a saying in my department that you are as good as your last payment. No truer words could have been spoken.
I'm not necessarily sad about losing my job. I felt like I took a stand and I did what was morally correct. I have a wonderful support system, I have a college degree, and I consider myself personable, so I'm sure I'll land back on my feet. In fact, as my manager was escorting me outside she told me that if I needed a reference, she would highly recommend me to everyone. I received nothing but accolades while I was at Bank of America. Even while I was getting fired my boss told me that out of anyone she's ever met I've had the highest morals and biggest heart she's ever seen, and that means more to me than my job.
At the end of the day, I don't have anything keeping me up at night. I did the right thing in God's eyes and I'm sure that He'll bless me. But [boss], can you say the same?
Update: A reader asked what will happen now to those customers who Jackie approved for a repayment plan even though they didn't qualify. Here's her response:
The last cardholder that I approved for the program will be rejected. My boss has no way of knowing everyone I've helped because BoA has an outdated recording system. Most phone calls between reps and cardholders aren't recorded. The only reason this call was recorded is because once a month my manager has to listen to our calls so the system randomly recorded this conversation.
"Why Bank Of America Fired Me" [YouTube]
Psst. The site is called Consumerist...ya know, kind of like communist with a fancy twist. It's power to the people and buyer beware fare. Since when did being indignant about corporate abuse equate to crazy, militant behavior here? Grinch, please!
]]>If you were collecting for credit cards how would you feel if someone put $20k of medical bills on their 5% cards to pay off over 3 years because they had a good job and could eventually afford it, but then lost that job. Unemployment paid 25% of their previous income. It took 6 months to find a new job at a 30% pay cut? How is that person EVER supposed to dig out?
Banks take a risk loaning to consumers. The risk is priced into the interest rate. People won't always be able to repay. Not all of them are deadbeats. Get over yourself.
]]>See, that's just bassackwards. You're only let into the program if you have enough income to pay off your card without assistance?
In fact, I was one of the top performers of my department, even outdoing those who were more tenured than I was.]]>A reasonable company would look at that and say, "Hey, she's recovering more money for the company. Maybe instead of firing her we should tell our other employees to do what she's doing instead." But no, BoA would rather make less money by offering an assistance program that no one who needs assistance can qualify for.
The OP was fired for not following policy. Whether or not the people she helped actually had medical problems or deaths in the family is irrelevant to BoA.
]]>Did you completely ignore the part where she explained that the program just turns the account into a loan? How is changing it into a loan they might have a chance of paying off let them "neglect" anything?
]]>BOA is not in the wedding and funeral business, where you expect to have a short-term, finite relationship with the client. Plenty of these people who are having trouble with their bills were good, solid customers and will be good, solid customers once again when the economy clears up, they become solvent and current again, and their troubles go away. I have a close, close friend who, for the fifteen years I've known her, has always been the soul of discretion when it comes to managing her finances, for example, paying off her student loans in record time. She had some financial trouble recently, through no fault of her own - she helped out a family member who turned out to have lied to her, BIG TIME, about the mortgage they shared together. In the future, she'll be a good customer who could bring in a lot of money to the bank who treats her well now. Sometimes people misstep. Sticking it to them in the short term may earn BOA stockholders a few extra toys in the stocking this year, but becoming one of the most hated companies in the world doesn't usually pan out well.
By the way, I'm a BOA affinity customer right now, but debating whether to move because of their shifty practices. We get treated much better at the local FCU and would never borrow money from BOA because of this sleaziness. They're not just alienating "bums".
]]>Awesome story.
]]>She helped people that needed it, maintained her high standard of collecting on outstanding debt, and got fired for it.
Hopefully when three funny-looking ghosts visit you in the dead of night a few weeks from now, you'll better understand why so many people are behind her.
]]>as far as I'm concerned, you didn't even deserve a write-up. You followed the companies rules. It's not your fault if the company's rules are hypocritical in nature. On one hand, they tell you to:
* do the right thing for the customer;
* think of yourself as a customer;
* and do the right thing for the company.
.. and on the other hand, "policy" is apparently to crush as many souls as possible by allowing them a theoretical glimmer of hope but denying it to people who fail to luck out enough to meet the convoluted requirements necessary.
Your actions in helping those customers who needed help were very much in line with points #1 and #2, and your exemplary track record of collection was very much in line with point #3.
As far as my little pea-brain can understand, you took a horrible situation (a clearly hypocritical set of policies) and somehow made the most of it. The righteousness of your position is undeniable. The only thing you should be fired for is setting the bar too high for those wharf rats and lowlifes festering throughout the company.
As far as I'm concerned, you're a hero for our troubled times, and I mean "Rosa Parks" level of hero. I guess I can't speak about whether you'd WANT to be that, but you certainly should be.
I wish the best of luck to you in finding a new job. You are clearly a bright, articulate and decent human being.. so you'll need all the luck you can get, I guess.
Charles.
]]>- A consumer is paying $30 bucks for a bare-bones phone plan that is their ONLY phone. One that is on so they can get calls from other collectors and, hopefully, job offers that will help them get out of debt. They don't have web access, they don't download videos and they aren't spending $100 a month on text-messaging.
- There's no plasma TV. You can pretend all you like, but you've put a picture on that makes you feel better about denying people.
- Cable is long-gone. It has been.
- RedBox rentals? This family doesn't waste a dollar on a movie rental. They go to the library and they get movies for free. They've figured this one out already. Oh - and this is where they likely access the internet as well. For their hour while other patrons wait. In that hour, they'll search job sites, check e-mail and tat will be about it.
It's really nice to pretend that everyone fits a very narrow mold - much like the whole "welfare queen" stereotype that isn't even close to being representative of everyone.
The sad thing is that she was dealing with people willing to work on paying their debt - they just want a little help. And it's not even to pay for luxuries. Yes, or rep said, "so they can enjoy a night out at the movies with their kids," and that makes her a human being. Which is actually a nice thing.
Of course, you probably think it's all cool that you've figured out all of humanity. And that you know everyone in the world sucks.
]]>what it really comes down to is that she wasn't collecting the way BOA wants her to. & that's their prerogative as her employer, but imho, it's a very poor business decision.
at one time, i needed assistance in bringing my debts under control & i was lucky enough to have someone like the OP work me into a plan that eliminated fees & reduced my interest rate. without that assistance, i was prepared to let the debt charge-off (i couldn't pay it). i paid that debt in full, so in the end, both the customer (me) & the lender won, didn't they? not everything's a zero-sum equation - especially not in the world of lending & collections. recovering your initial investment plus a little interest on the side is more often than not better than charging-off & seeking remedy through other channels.
]]>If we educate kids during high school about what it means to be financially astute and to make wise decisions to set themselves up for adult-hood (we should also teach high school kids about the student loan process, because if high school teachers do not, student loan company reps in college will), society would obviously benefit.
Until FICO scores are obsolete and we continue to measure a consumer's veracity and fitness using their credit history, the BOA/HSBC/CITI/JPMC cycle will perpetuate itself. If we arm young adults with the right financial knowledge, the cycle may have less participants. Unfortunately, our teachers are teaching bullshi* standardized tests instead of personal finance...but that's a topic for another post.
]]>And good for you for understanding that collections is not a narrowly-focused job. Yes, there are scammers. But there are many, many others who really need help. Unfortunately, individuals who either have never been on the phone or have allowed themselves to take it personally when one liar got one passed them are the ones making decisions on who gets help. Or worse, individuals whose idea of having things "rough" is that mad sacrifice of deciding to cut back to eating out only twice a week are deciding what you do.
You'll do fine. You're articulate, you've done the right thing for a small number of people and you're putting a human face on this problem. Thanks for showing that corporations have no problem taking away jobs from people that can help those who need help. The more actual faces - the real ones that aren't scams, the people that are struggling, the people that did try to do right - that people see, the less that people can pretend that everyone who has ever lost a job or been in debt is an irresponsible lowlife.
]]>As a Collector I you would be responsible for assisting Bank of America customers who are experiencing financial difficulties. You would be responsible for assisting customers through the outbound and inbound collections calling process which frequently requires guidance on non-routine situations. Your primary responsibilities are collections, customer servicing and other loss mitigation or recovery activities. You will contacts delinquent, charged-off or high-risk customers in order to secure payment and determine reason for delinquency on active mortgage loans or credit card accounts. In the recovery area, collectors will work with customer to establish full balance repayment plans or settlements. You may also be required to works an established list of accounts on an automated collections system and/or auto dialer. The Collector I will resolve routine billing inquiries and negotiate payment arrangements to cure delinquent accounts as well as educate customers on account terms and alternate payment programs and methods.
SKILLS:
Required Skills:
* Previous customer service experience
* Excellent communication skills
* Ability to understand and discuss personal and financial difficulties
* Ability to analyze and negotiate payment arrangements
* Demonstrated ability to work in a fast paced environment.
* Strong computer skills
Desired Skills:
* Previous Collection experience
* Desire to resolve customer issues a must
Then after the employer hangs up you have a chance to defend yourself to the agent, and they make a decision in a couple days and based on their determination, you get the money straight away or have a penalty waiting period of I think it is 6 weeks in NJ. You do not get back pay for that time you are waiting either.
]]>There is no mercy in the system sadly.
]]>Pro-consumerism is good and serves a valuable purpose. Your blend of MILITANT pro-consumerism is not and quite frankly is rather detrimental.
The sad thing about it is it hits the least savvy consumers the hardest, mainly people without the wherewithal to pay their bill online if they wait until the last minute.
]]>However, collections is NOT customer service. Everyone that calls in has an issue they are dealing with trust me.
It takes a different kind of person to be in collections.
]]>Here is a history of the world of lending for you. Back in the day, banks liked people paying on time. It means they can charge merchants their 1%-5% and the consumer would not know they are giving money to banks out of the pockets of the stores they buy from. Literally, and that all prices are jacked up about 1-5% because of it for everyone. It was good and convenient.
Then one day in the 90s a pair of mathematicians came with undeniable proof that late-payers are good for the banks. People who feel a wrongness for paying late will be ok paying their late fee because they forgot, or don't have the money ATM. The banks were happy. They made more cash. Then it was suggested that banks add high interest rates with mechanisms to ensure people with a balance pay high %. And the way they calculate even paying off my full balance today does not mean next month I won't get an interest, technically if you don't pay off your CC correctly you can be paying a few dollars for a long time. To accomplish profits banks target those who they KNOW won't pay well. And they don't care. Remember they are lenders not charities. Why else would a bank offer to give ME (at the time, unemployed student) a $5000 credit line? How do they expect me to pay that off? with good intentions? They gave my friend an 18yo girl unemployed in highschool over $5000 credit, and her mom had brain damage, and went off buying crap racking up debt. How do they expect an 18yo to make $5000 and pay it off?
In the end the best way to end this is to TEACH PEOPLE FROM AN EARLY AGE (jr high school) to SPEND WISELY! Teach them that they will ALWAYS have the option to get loans, but never take them unless the loan works for you. I have only been in debt for... 2 weeks for $500 because I needed it. Until I have a good reason to get a loan I won't even with credit cards (which I use frequently) because I understand responsibility. Vice versa my friend does not, she racked up over $8000 already not realizing she had to pay it off, and how much it costs. The point is EDUCATION IS KEY.
So quit whining about it and send a letter with this information to the department of education telling them to educate our youth. And I suggest everyone reading this does! And lastly never expect a for-profit company to be a charity, unless they say they are, otherwise turn elsewhere for help.
]]>In case you hadn't noticed this is a PRO-consumer website, thank you.
]]>I also wish the thousands and thousands of other decent people like you would get busy making videos exposing the other companies so people in this country really start to understand how things really are and why we should never let corporations get so powerful.
Good luck to you getting a decent well paying job helping people you deserve!
]]>Bravo to this woman. I wish the brianless idiots killing each other over line positions at WalMarts on Black Friday would instead start violent riots outside all the credit card company headquarters in this country over these practices and interest rates before the new laws kick in so they never even THINK of trying these things again.
]]>Her bosses have heard all of the crap before and have access to the complete file. Hells Bells they might even know the lies and stories the worse of the worse are telling the other CC companies.
It is not everybody, but there are enough of them to cause problems for the slightly honest people.
PS; My business is situated at the front of an industrial complex. There are a handful of private investigators who try to sit in my parking lot to track cars entering the complex. Can ya guess why? Yep, workmans comp, insurance fraud. Oh and the occassional jerkweed that tells the CC company that he no longer works at XYZ corp. Sure, sure and for some strange reason your car goes there 5 days per week and stays for 8.5 hours.
]]>Do you think Jackie complaining to her Boss would have done any good?
]]>1. Yes, I was a competent collector. In fact, I was one of the top associates. When it came to Bank of America and their practices, I understand very well about being for profit and taking the proper actions to ensure that you stay for profit and stay profitable. Being a top associate, I did my job well collecting far more than those who were more tenured than me. Not everyone is a sob story. Like many Americans, I feel like if I make a debt then I should pay my debt. There is a difference, however, in collecting debts and being a bully. I collected debts from people who eluded us in the past. From those who spent foolishly and were angry that had to pay. I've collected from those who simply forgot and those who put up a fight but I got them to pay anyway. These aren't the people my video is advocating for. BOA is a rich company. All those who are literally suffering, dying, and homeless are the one's I made the video for. How do you justify telling a dying woman that 30 percent interest with fees is fair. This "just business" mentality is disgusting. Right now BOA is about at a 10% delinquency rate. Does this sound bad? Because this means that 90% of their cardholders are still paying. Let's do some math...let's say that BOA is getting 10% interest off all these accts every month (and 10% interest is low. we all know they are charging higher) What does this acct to dollar wise?? A whole lot. Enough so that when a loyal cardholder writes in, the least BOA can do is waive a fee and stop charging over $70 in fees every month until they are caught up. Also, BOA's attitude is if you don't want to pay off the debt, you shouldn't have made it. They say they charge high interest rates because credit cards are the riskiest product they offer. Here is an idea, use all the people in your marketing department to actually come up with a product that works. Yes, credit is important. In this society we need it. So why not make it work? Clearly this system is broken so why don't the folks at BOA, Wachovia, Suntrust, Wamu, etc figure out how to make credit work. This is the equivalent of the real estate market crashing because of greed. Why keep pushing products that turn a profit on the front end but causes a catastrophic financial let down in the long run? That's just greedy.
2. Why did I work there? I am not ashamed to admit that I needed a job and took what was offered. I was told I would be a patient advocate for the customer assistance department. Who knew that translated to collector for a collection's department? I certainly didn't.
3. Did I deserve to be fired? I don't believe people should break rules. They are there for a reason. I believe people should be accountable for their actions and I continue to be accountable for mine. When my boss pulled me aside, I never lied about anything and let him know how I was thinking. I benefited in no way from any of my actions. If I had taken money out of a cardholder's acct then that is something to be fired for. What I did, in my opinion, deserved a right up. I really just wanted to help people.
4. How often did I "help" people? I don't want you guys to think that I went around putting everyone on a program. Like I said, I did my job well. The proof was in my numbers. But every so often, I would encounter a cardholder that "got to me" and I definitely did my all to help them get approved. In fact, it was only once that I went overboard and approved a program that I wholeheartedly knew a cardholder didn't qualify for. But I knew that she needed the program and that me helping her was her only way of staying up to date. I definitely wasn't a rule breaker or a rebel.
5. There are honest people. There are liars. I encountered them both. I had times when I knew someone was blowing smoke. And I had times when I really couldn't tell. But, I also had times when I had both men and women sobbing on the phone because they had no where else to turn and no one else who would listen. I wasn't gullible. I wasn't helping everyone with a sob story. In fact, I was fired for one isolated case. Like I said, I never tried to be the rebel with a cause. I just wanted to offer help that made sense.
Her official job is to do whatever would put BofA in the best position from a profit perspective. And, frankly, she probably did MORE in the long-run for them from a profit-perspective than their short-term "grab it now" model is doing.
This is why one of the proposals to do bonuses based on 3 or 5-year performances wasn't as crazy as it sounded. For someone who got to convert over to a loan, they'd pay off the debt in whole. Sure, at a lower rate - instead of charging off at 29.99% where BofA wants to take a gamble and hope that they won't do it in this calendar year and they can milk a few more fees or somehow manage to be afraid of the BofA collections department and keep THAT card open.
Nevermind what happens when those customers eventually have power again and can pick and choose cards - a person having to think 3-5 years down the road is suddenly panicked because those folks will remember and close accounts and leave for greener pastures. In that environment, this woman would be lauded as a picture of amazing customer service - because she was thinking about long-term customer satisfaction.
But, hey, let's all think short-term. Because everyone knows 15 bucks today is worth way more than thousands over a lifetime.
]]>It's a step in the right direction.
]]>I always found that to be bullshit.
So, if the average payment takes me 3.5 minutes on the phone, and that 3.5 minutes costs me $13... how much money is Dell making whenever somebody has to pay by phone? It's ridiculous, and it's a crock.
]]>And that's precisely as it should be.
You want personal service? Shop at your corner store. You want cold, capitalist efficiency? You deal with soulless companies.
And I don't use soulless as an insult-- I *want* my credit card company (and my insurance company, and my governments) to be soulless. And blind. And deaf. I want them to tell me, "Here are the rules, follow them and you get X, break them and you get Y. No exceptions other than the ones here in the fine print."
You start arbitrarily breaking that system down, and who suffers? The honest, diligent people who had no trouble paying their bills on time, reading the fine print, or understanding their contractual responsibilities.
Do I have sympathy for the cancer survivor, the unemployed man, the vision-impaired elderly? Yes, tremendous sympathy, enough to both give a large percentage of my income to charities and volunteer (admittedly, not as often as I'd like, but I still do). But that's *my* sympathy, and no one else has to share it.
If BoA wants to change its policies to be more "charitable," by all means, go ahead. Business decision, marketing campaign, just pure decency, have at it. I'd certainly think more of BoA if they did that.
But the OP's proper response was to complain-- first to her boss, than to her boss's boss, up the chain until she got a response that satisfied her, or she determined that she needed to move on. What she did instead-- knowingly violate her employer's policies, whatever the reason-- was an eminently fireable offense. In fact, I'd say it went as far as theft, as she intentionally reduced the income BoA was rightfully owed. She's fortunate she was only fired, and not sued or even charged.
She sounds like a bright woman; I wish her well in finding an employer she appreciates.
But again-- whether it's Fannie Mae encouraging the handing out of mortgages like candy or BoA employees "fighting the power," the end result is the same: one person is helped, but many others the OP will never meet will be hurt, through no fault of their own, even though *they* followed all the rules.
]]>This bank, moreso than any others, has been adding and increasing fees, doing shady shit like changing it so all payment-due dates are on a Sunday, and crap like that solely to be able to rip people off with outrageous, unwarranted fees.
People can say that you should read your cardholder agreement before you get your card... but the one I signed, 15 years ago, bears no resemblance to the agreement I have now. The changes are tiny, incremental, and the bank does everything possible to ensure you avoid reading about them.
Additionally, I've discovered that BofA has a "catch-all" phrase buried into all of its agreements. I found this out after I had exhausted all of the arguments offered by the so-called "Customer Solutions" person as to why the bank was wrong and I was right on an issue. After I showed her why the bank was not doing what it had agreed in all of its terms of service, she pulled out a paragraph in the TOS that said, in essence, "Bank of America may change any policy at any time, with or without notice to a customer, and may alter the way it interprets or enforces any policy at any given time if Bank of America believes that it is in its best interest to do so."
When she pulled that out, I knew that both she, and the bank, had absolutely no sense of ethics or desire for fair dealing whatsoever.
Unfortunately, when you are "too big to fail", the government will look the other way and allow you to do everything but put a gun to people's heads to get enough money to keep yourself in business.
]]>I mean you can still be a nice person, but you don't get emotional when it comes to the customers.
Let's get one thing clear here: Most call centers I know of don't want creative thinkers with common sense, they want mechanical CSRs who can read scripts, quote policy and not really give a crap about you in the process.
That call center job I had really opened my eyes about what most companies consider to be "good customer service".
]]>1. Dell -- they waived the fees and late charges if I brought my account current, which I did. Now I'm current on Dell.
2. Discover - if I agreed not to use my card for a year and make the year's payments on time, they lowered my interest to 9.99% from 29.99%. Now I'm current on that one to
3. Chase/BP - They offered to put me on a payment plan, but said it would be cheaper to just bring my account current and they waive the late fee.. which they did, and now its current
4. Citi -- same deal with Chase, offered to put me on a plan, but they just waived any fees I needed in order to bring the account current, and now I'm current and a very profitable customer of theres
Not contesting the CSRs unemployment cliam would be the best thing - more money for antique commodes for B of A executives.
]]>3 out of 5 times that I roll in the door (I'm in a power wheelchair), the CEO/head guy/whatever you call it walks up behind me, startles me (in fun) and asks me how I'm doing today. The tellers know me by my face, and usually wave me off when I rattle off my account number. They know the routine transactions I make.
When I came in about a year ago to get a check to make a payment to a sub-prime credit card, the CEO guy caught my attention as I was leaving and said "You know, we offer a credit card, have you thought about applying for it?" I didn't know that, so I accepted his offer and filled an application out, handed it to the lady that does loans and credit cards, and parked in the waiting area. The CEO guy came up to me a few minutes later and said "What's the limit on that card you have right now?" I told him. He rattled off a number about $200 higher, and I accepted. He said "You'll have the card this week", and true to his word I did. No annual fees, ~14% interest rate, all in all great terms. Twice I've asked for small credit limit increases and twice I've been approved either on the spot or within 20 minutes by phone. Contrary to most people's experiences with credit cards provided by big banks in this depression, my terms have not been changed in any way unfavorable to me.
In fact, my last increase conversation was a couple of days prior to Thanksgiving. I was chatting with the loan/credit card lady about it, and she said she'd pass it on to the CEO guy and get back to my by phone. A tad surprised, I asked her if she needed my name or account number.. "Nope" she said. "I know your face."
This credit union will have my business for a very long time.
You're telling me a company that lends money at 10% interest couldn't find a way to be profitable?
]]>Anyway, as it has risk there has to be a higher interest rate. It's not an evil plot to make money, it's the equilibrium decided upon after years of quantitative analysis.
]]>A person may not have money for milk and eggs, but their local bodega may give them to them for $4 instead of $5---or work out a payment plan. That's fine, of course, because the clerk is probably also the owner of the bodega.
Ms. Reynolds is not a majority shareholder or on the board, nor has she been appointed to make decisions on a business that is not hers.
]]>In principal, I agree with you. But if a bank can't make money by borrowing it at 0 -1% and selling it at 10%, they themselves should find another line of business. $15 "convenience fees", $40 overlimit and late fees and 30% interest are beyond the pale.
]]>"It's the customer's fault that they are using the company."
Once you get used to using this way of thinking, you can do whatever the company asks. In fact, you'll work extra hard to ensure the customers are punished just as the company wants, in the hopes that the customer realises it's their own fault they're being treated like this.
Of course, the moment you stop working there, you need to take that moral hat off the hook and start wearing it again, lest you turn into a sociopath all day long...
]]>2) BofA kept sending me consolidation loan offers but when I applied I was declined and told that I already had sufficient debt. Huh?
I believe them. The first time.
]]>The most interesting bit about this piece is the fact that she gives us all for certain information we otherwise just assume in the way of BoA's policies. Two things I wonder:
1) Is there any way we can verify her story? She sounds legit, and I certainly believe all those things about BoA already, but is there any way to corroborate this?
2) If it is legit, which seems likely, what will happen to those she approved despite bank policy?
]]>We could all probably learn a little from her example. Some call it gullible, and I agree that perhaps a few liars slipped through the cracks and got help with their debt at the expense of people who were rejected because she couldn't say yes to everyone, and had to maintain her job. But it doesn't change the fact that people who talk to these reps are doing so because they do have debt. People who don't have debt don't get phone calls from these people.
]]>You ought to be on The Daily Show as an example of someone who knows how to be a f'ing person!
]]>I understand that banks are there to make a profit, and people should repay their debts, blah, blah, blah...
But these banks game the system to ream people for as much as they can. Their terms are not at all equitable, and no '&@$*ing person' would ever treat another person who owed them money like this. When a friend you loaned moeny too has trouble paying you, you work with them to make repayment do-able, you don't look at it as an opportunity to financially ruin them in order to line your own pockets.
The OP was fired maybe because she has a difficult time distinguishing between the honest people and the liars.
Remember, people are stupid. And people are liars and cheats. Not everybody. But enough. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the scum from the honest hard working folks. It was hear job to follow the company rules and distinguish between the liars and cheats and the honest people. She failed.
A bank offers a service on their terms when it offers you a credit card. People are not entitled to a credit card; it’s a privilege being offered to you, not a right. If banks started lowering rates and fees to everyone that came in with a sob story they’d never make any money. If they aren’t making money perhaps they simply won’t offer credit cards so freely to anyone anymore; then everyone will complain about that as well.
If you don’t understand credit or have a tendency to spend more then you earn, you probably shouldn’t have a credit card.
On a semi-related note; It would be nice if they brought back economics courses and added personal finance in High School as a requirement that you had to pass in order to graduate. Perhaps then more people would understand the concept of financial responsibility.
I just don't get it.
]]>The point is, if you treat people with respect, they will generally do the right thing, and usually a better business relationship follows. The small percentage of people who didn't represented something like 0.09% of our bad checks and an even smaller percentage of our gross sales. A small enough percentage that most companies would be envious of. All because my company let me be a fsking human.
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